The Other World
by h33r
Summary: Sirius Black, son of Orion Black falls through The Veil and is reborn as Sirius Black, son of Regulus Black in the other world. And well, wherever Sirius goes, Sirius is Sirius. I am sorry about my bad English, but I am improving if you can ignore it for few chapters; i think my English gets better.
1. Chapter 1

**The Other World**

 **SUMMARY:**

Sirius Black son of Orion Black falls through The Veil is reborn as Sirius Black son of Regulus Black in the other world. And well, wherever Sirius goes, Sirius is Sirius.

Author's Note: Italics are thoughts of people when story is from their POV. English is not my native language.

-….-….-…..-….-…-….

 **Prologue:**

 **SIRIUS POV**

 _That bitch threw a stunner when I was distracted; why did I hear Regulus's voice when I was near the Veil; what the hell is going on?_

Sirius was confused. His thoughts were a chaotic mess. He saw darkness surround him and he started sinking in it. He closed his eyes. He felt like he couldn't breathe.

Then suddenly some spell or something hit him and he could breathe again. He felt like he was crying.

Sirius could hear some voices around him. He again heard voice of Regulus. He opened his eyes and saw Regulus staring at him.

 _Oh, I am dead. I could meet Regulus, James and Lily, Mom and Dad, now. I will be at peace finally. I will now be free of nightmares of Azkaban. My magic wouldn't torture me like it did after Azkaban. I can finally be truly free.._

Sirius extended his hand to touch Regulus's face but his hand didn't reach Regulus. Sirius recalled that his hands used to be quite long; maybe he is in spirit form now or something and looked at his hand.

 _WHAT THE HELLLLLL? Why are my hands so small? Wait, why am I a baby? What the hell is going on? Why can't I speak?_

Then Regulus picked him up. Sirius now realized that he was in hospital.

"Look Marl, the baby recognizes me. He looks just like Sirius," said Regulus happily looking towards the woman lying on bed.

Sirius decided to look towards the woman. He now fully comprehended the fact that babies have quite limited mobility.

 _What the hell? I wonder how many times I have said 'What the hell' in my mind now. Regulus married Marlene Mckinon! Really ! Marlene maybe pureblood but she was a Gryffindor…Seriously why am I a baby?_

Sirius decided to look around to see who else was present. Sirius groaned on seeing Orion Black and Walburgha Black; that is if babies could groan.

"So what name have you thought of giving to your son, Regulus?" asked Orion Black.

"Sirius Orion Black. I want to name my son after my older brother and my savior. He may no longer be among us but his spirit will always live on through my son," said Regulus.

 _Great, so I am dead again or whatever. And my darling brother Regulus, looks like you literally got my spirit in your son._

Despite his situation, which he couldn't fully understand, Sirius laughed.

"Look, even baby likes his name. He is smiling," said Marlene.

"Well, I hope he would be a better son than Sirius," said Walburgha Black.

Sirius sighed looking towards his mother.

 _Well, some things even Veil can't change. Wait Veil, all of this is because of Veil….What exactly is Veil ?_

Then he saw his brother shoot an angry look towards their mother.

"Mother, I want a son exactly like my brother because this time he would have parents who love him; not parents who torture him," said Regulus angrily.

"Calm down, Reg. Our son would have an amazing life. I am sure. He would have parents and even grandparents who love him," said Marlene looking towards Orion and Walburgha Black.

Sirius' heart broke. He could feel tears stinging his eyes. He would have parents who love him. It was something he couldn't fully grasp.

"Look, you made my son cry," said Marlene.

"Oh, I am sorry, Sirius," said Regulus looking at Sirius lovingly.

Sirius was suddenly feeling very tired. His eyes were closing.

"My baby Sirius, is tired," cooed Marlene.

Regulus handed Sirius to Marlene.

Sirius did not understand Veil, he did not understand what was going on, but he completely understood one thing i.e. being baby is extremely difficult and this might be the biggest challenge he had faced till date.


	2. Chapter 2

The Other World

SUMMARY:

Sirius Black son of Orion Black falls through The Veil and is reborn as Sirius Black son of Regulus Black in the other world. And well, wherever Sirius goes, Sirius is Sirius.

Author's Note: Italics are thoughts of people when story is from their POV. English is not my native language.

-….-….-…..-….-…-….

Chapter 1:

SIRIUS POV

Sirius didn't know what was more embarrassing for him, change of nappies or breastfeeding. Being baby he couldn't move much, he couldn't speak, though he wouldn't know what to speak about anyway given his unusual circumstances. But he has started to realize that being parents of baby wasn't a very pleasant task either even if Sirius Black was an awesome baby or atleast he thought he was. He barely cried. Even though he had no control over some body functions, he tried not to show displeasure during his parents' meal times which he remembered few of the babies doing even Harry. He tried not make fuss at nights so his ex-friend cum mother and his ex-brother cum father could have proper rest. Yes, he was an ideal baby yet he was Sirius Black. Ok, he did make fuss at some nights; well, what could he do, he was bored. If he was an actual baby, who had baby thoughts he might have been entertained by his father/brother showing him colorful bubbles or his mother transfiguring fairies. He wanted to tell her mother multiple times that being boy he wasn't really interested in fairies and butterflies. However, his lack of verbal skills as baby and sheer joy on face of his mother made him pretend to be extremely enthusiastic about fairies, butterflies and what else. Atleast, his father stuck to broomsticks, snitches, quaffles, dragons, etc.

It has been one month of his baby life and it has been one month that Lord and Lady Black, his grandparents, have been organizing an event to display their new heir. The effort they had spent on this occasion, if he wasn't a baby, he would have thought that they were planning his wedding.

In his one month of baby time, he had accomplished one thing that even his older self hadn't been able to do.

Yes, he had gotten rid of Kreacher.

He couldn't himself believe that it would be so easy. All he did was start crying whenever that obnoxious house-elf came into his view. His mother, Marlene was the first one to notice this and discussed it with Regulus.

Regulus, then had warmly smiled at Sirius and said," Looks like he is more like his uncle than we thought."

 _Well, I am my uncle, brother. Not that it makes any sense._

But then the miracle has finally happened. Regulus sent Kreacher to Black Manor where currently Orion and Walburgha Black resided after Arcturus Black had kicked the pensieve. House-elf Twinky from Black Manor had come to Grimmauld Place to replace Kreacher. In his previous life, Twinky had been killed by his deranged Uncle Cygnus Black when Arcturus Black had refused to properly disown Sirius Black. Killing Twinky had been his act of vengeance against Sirius because he knew Sirius was friends with Twinky.

Well, as the party has been organized, invitations were being sent. Marlene had informed Regulus that she would invite Dorcas personally and Dorcas wanted to meet Sirius. Baby Sirius was happy to hear that Dorcas was alive. They had been very good friends and some of the best pranks he had pulled during Order meetings, he had Dorcas as accomplice.

He was also happy that he would finally get to see some place other than St Mungos, Grimmauld Place or Black Manor. Even in his baby form, he wanted to know what happened to James and Remus. Were they alive? Were they doing well? They have never been mentioned by anyone in the house. He was afraid that they might be dead. He had decided that if James and Lily were indeed dead, he would go to Privet Drive as soon as he was capable of doing so and befriend Harry, and ultimately force his parents to adopt Harry. He won't let him suffer from unhappy childhood this time. And well, the way his parents doted on him, he was sure Regulus and Marlene would do anything for their son's happiness.

Loving parents, this was a new experience for him. However, he would be telling lies if he didn't say he was happy about it. He, for the first time, really understood why James was never truly able to grasp the suffering of his friends, be it Remus, Peter or Sirius. Despite not comprehending the power of Veil, he had thanked Veil multiple times, just for giving him parents who loved him. In his previous life, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter had adopted him as second son and loved him. However, he had always felt incomplete.

Marlene used floo to get to Hogsmeade. When they arrived at Three Broomsticks, they were greeted quite zealously by Rosemarta.

After general greetings, Rosemarta was now cradling Sirius in her arms.

"Well, this cute little bugger looks exactly like Sirius," said Rosemarta affectionately.

Marlene smiled and nodded.

Before she could reply, they heard shout from the door indicating that Dorcas has arrived.

Dorcas hugged Marlene for what seemed like eternity to baby Sirius. Then, she too, was fawning over him. In his mind, the situation seemed very amusing to him.

After asking Rosemarta for butterbeers for themselves and pumpkin juice for little baby, they started talking. Baby Sirius was, however, not happy that he was stuck with drinking pumpkin juice while the ladies in company enjoyed butterbeers. He was thinking of best way to make fuss as a baby to show his discontentment but stopped when he heard Dorcas say Potter. What surprised him more was not the mention of Potter but the venomous tone with which Dorcas has mentioned Potter.

"Looks like meeting James, I mean Potter in Ministry didn't go well for you," said Marlene.

Sense of relief washed over Sirius.

 _James is alive. James is alive. Thanks Veil. Remus must be alive, too. James will take care of him._

Now Sirius became exemplary baby. Quiet as to not disturb the two witches so he can get some clue about Remus and well, Peter, too.

Meanwhile drinks arrived and his mother put pumpkin juice in his bottle and gave it to him.

(A/N: I have no idea if one month baby can drink pumpkin juice, but let's just say magical children can)

Baby Sirius was now slowly drinking pumpkin juice.

After a large swig of butterbeer, Dorcas replied,"Ofcourse not. Looks like even Potter believes that Voldemort spared me because I was sex slave of Sirius Black."

At this, baby Sirius sprayed his pumpkin juice and kind of choked. His eyes were wide as saucers, well as much wide as baby can make them wide. His mother immediately picked him up, rubbing his back, making sure he was alright.

When confirmed that baby Sirius was fine, Dorcas laughed and said, " See even our little angel here thinks that this is ludicrous and all those imbeciles believe it to be true."

Marlene smiled sadly and said," It's because you supported Regulus' and my claim that Sirius Black was innocent."

Then she snorted and continued, "The Chosen one didn't take it well, I think."

Sirius' mind was reeling while the two witches slowly sipped butterbeer in companionable silence.

 _James thought Dorcas was my sex slave; whatever the hell that means. There was new Chosen one. He was sure it wasn't Harry because he doubt baby Harry could initiate scandal like this. And... And...and... And... James didn't believe him...Prongs didn't believe in Padfoot in this world...how else could he blame Dorcas for something like this... Was Remus the same...but James... We are brothers, aren't we?_

Without knowing what he was doing, baby Sirius started crying. This broke the silence and two witches shifted their attention to baby. Marlene instantly picked him up and tried to soothe him, but it took half an hour for Sirius to stop crying and that was because as a baby his stamina was drained.

When he finally calmed down, Marlene said to Dorcas," This is the first time he has cried like this. He never really cries. "

Dorcas patted Sirius lovingly and kissed him on the forehead.

Baby Sirius closed his eyes.

After few minutes, witches resumed their conversation thinking he was asleep.

"Do you miss Gideon, Dorcas?" asked Marlene.

Sirius kept his eyes closed but kept listening.

"Maybe, I don't know. But I am sure I can never have same relationship with him as before. You remember how he treated me when few months ago this scandal broke out. He called me disgusting whore. I thought he would support me, trust me, but...," Dorcas trailed off.

"Must be the excellent influence of Molly Weasley. That woman is daft enough to believe anything in the papers, any rumors that comes across her ears," said Marlene venomously.

 _Well, atleast my mother and I share the same opinion about Molly Weasley._

"It doesn't matter whose influence it was. In the end he didn't believe me,"replied Dorcas.

Then Marlene laughed bitterly and said," Voldemort may be temporarily gone but this war has already destroyed us. Look at all the broken relations. More than war, we destroyed ourselves. Who could believe a day would come that James Potter will believe that Sirius Black was a Death Eater? Who could believe that Remus Lupin will support Potter? Who could believe that Lily, the most logical among us in Hogwarts, would start acting like Molly Weasley? Who could believe that most people to support innocence of Sirius Black were Death Eaters? Regulus tried very hard, you know, he is still trying. He thinks I don't know."

Sirius Black was listening to all this. He didn't have any energy to cry. It was his soul that now felt tired.

" Marlene, you are rambling. Is Regulus still trying to prove Sirius' innocence. Are you worried about Regulus?" asked Dorcas

"Yes, I am. I am tired. I want my only son to be safe. I want my husband to be safe. Regulus talked to Potter and Lupin again but Potter tried to hex him rather than listen. Lupin didn't even bother opening the door, " said Marlene quietly.

"Who cares about those assholes. Anyway Marls, what do you mean by only son. Come on, I thought there will be Black Quidditch team ready in few years," said Dorcas in amused tone.

Sirius has opened his eyes to see expression of two witches.

Marlene looked grim and said," Dorcas, there were complications during childbirth. I... I can't have any more children. "

Sirius sighed. And so did Dorcas. But this was moment when Sirius realized that he would live his life fully this time as son of Marlene and Regulus. Yes, they were his friends, his brother in past life but that didn't matter anymore. They were first and foremost his parents.

"Why don't you move away for few years until things calm down? Blacks have property all across continent. Even your family has chateau in Ireland " suggested Dorcas.

"That's actually a good idea. Thanks Dorcas," said Marlene with a smile.

"Ofcourse, all my ideas are good. And well, you are the only friend I have anyway and I want to see you happy," laughed Dorcas.

"I am hurt, Dorcas. You don't consider me friend," came an amused voice of Regulus Black from behind.

Regulus came over and immediately picked up Sirius.

"I missed you, my little Sirius," said Regulus while kissing his son.

Dorcas laughed and said, " Keep spoiling him and he will be bigger git than you at school."

Marlene swatted Dorcas' arm and smiled.

"He just have to be himself and like Sirius, I am fine with that," said Regulus.

Sirius, meanwhile, was trying to get hold of glass of firewhisky in his father's hand. Even as baby, he thought he needed a drink after listening to the conversation.

Regulus looked amusedly at his son's attempt, "Don't tell me you witches were trying to get my son drunk."

The both witches laughed. Regulus then took small chubby hands of his son, which were trying to reach the glass, in his hands and kissed them.

"I love him so much," said Regulus.

Marlene watched his husband lovingly.

Dorcas chuckled and said," Well, I am sure if he really grew up to be like Sirius, plenty of love will be coming his way."

Then continued in a serious tone,"Seriously, you Blacks are too good looking for your own good. No wonder witches think Marlene got lucky."

Regulus Black said in a solemn voice," The most beautiful Black suffered the most in his short life. He was just a beautiful tragedy."

Marlene and Dorcas became quiet with somber expression on their face. Sirius has now decided that since he can't reach glass, he will just annoy his father by trying to pull his hair.

Regulus asked, "So Marls have you given invitation to Dorcas for the party."

"Oh, I forgot," said Marlene.

Marlene then handed invitation to Dorcas. Dorcas grinned reading the invitation.

"So Dorcas, how is your restaurant going?" asked Regulus.

"It's ok. Not many people come nowadays. But I think it will go well when things calm down a bit. Only guests I have nowadays are Death Eaters and their families," said Dorcas.

"Hmmm...you know you can contact me if there is any problem, right?" said Regulus.

"Yes, I know. Anyway I should get back restaurant now. Marls, dont be a stranger. And you,too, Regulus. You are welcome anytime as customer," said Dorcas and chuckled.

"And here I thought I would claim to be your friend and get discount at your restaurant," said Regulus in mock-ups tone.

"Not like you need any discount, Mr. Black," said Dorcas playfully.

They all got up to leave. Regulus still had Sirius in his arms.

There was some commotion outside and the door of Three Broomsticks suddenly opened.

One of the customers suddenly got up and said with excitement, " Oh look, it's the Chosen one and his wife."

Another said," Chosen One is about to have baby."

Another one said," Baby would be as powerful as his father. "

The three adults with Sirius suddenly froze. Sirius moved his head and saw that beautiful features of all three were marred with disgust. Regulus wrapped his arms around Sirius more protectively. Dorcas' wand was twitching in her hands. Even Marlene 's hand was gripping the wand tightly.

Rosemarta came over to them and Sirius noticed that she, too, wasn't happy about this Chosen One coming into her pub.

Rosemarta asked if they wanted her to remove the Chosen one to which they all refused saying something about business practices. Sirius was again cursing his baby self for not being able to move properly and satisfy his curiosity. He wanted to move his head and see who this Chosen One was.

"Let's leave," said Regulus.

They walked towards door. With one haughty look from Regulus Black , path was created for them to pass. Well, Black is Black after all, thought Sirius.

Apparently, the pub had gone silent. The customers were expecting some kind of showdown between Chosen One and Regulus Black. Sirius could deduce that from the glimpse he got.

Sirius was thinking that this Chosen One must have something to do with Sirius Black being declared Death Eater since he accused Dorcas of being his sex slave. This must be why people expected Regulus Black to duel Chosen One.

The two witches and two wizards, well one was baby, ignored the crowd and moved.

And that was when Sirius ' eyes locked with that of Chosen One.

The Chosen One shuddered slightly but couldn't remove his eyes from silver pools he saw.

Sirius knew he could never forget those watery blue eyes.

The Chosen One.

It was Peter Pettigrew with a very pregnant Dolores Umbridge.


	3. Chapter 3

The Other World

SUMMARY:

Sirius Black son of Orion Black falls through The Veil and is reborn as Sirius Black son of Regulus Black in the other world. And well, wherever Sirius goes, Sirius is Sirius.

Author's Note: Italics are thoughts of people when story is from their POV. English is not my native language.

-….-….-…..-….-…-….

Chapter 2:

SIRIUS POV

To say that Sirius was shocked would be an understatement. Sirius was beyond shocked that Chosen One was none other than disgusting traitorous rat, Pettigrew. Sirius was sure that even this time around 'rat' was a traitor. He had seen it in his eyes. And somehow now everything made sense to him. He was sure that rat was involved in death of Sirius Black of this world. What distressed him most was that James had believed 'rat'. Remus was another story as even in his previous life, Remus had believed Pettigrew. But James was like his twin, they used to understand what other was thinking just by looking at their face, they could complete each other's sentences, they had this weird telepathic connection ;yet despite all this, James trusted Pettigrew more than him. Sirius hadn't been a very good baby since the visit to that particular pub and encounter with wizarding World's Chosen One. He was very moody, crying one second while becoming completely quiet the next.

And now it was day of party. His mother was apparently at some spa with Dorcas to get ready for this supposedly big event. Sirius knew Blacks like to show off their wealth, their status, their ancestry, their nobility. He was now with his father and Twinky, who were dressing him into formal baby robes.

 _Whoever the hell had the idea to design something like 'very uncomfortable formal baby robes' should hope that they never have my wand pointed at them._

Sirius was making fuss as usual when Regulus was getting him into robes. He would intentionally move as much as he can to avoid wearing the robes. For every fuss, unlike Orion, Regulus only smiled at Sirius.

"You know Sirius, I love you. I love you more than my brother. That's saying something because I have never loved anyone more than Sirius not even your mother," said Regulus with a sad smile.

Sirius stopped fussing and focusing his gaze on his brother, ok his father.

Regulus sighed and continued, " I named him your godfather as soon as Marlene told me that she was pregnant. But he got killed few months after that. Father wanted me to choose a new godfather but I can't do that. So you have to make do with me and your mother."

Sirius was smiling. Even some kind of baby giggles escaped his mouth. He was happy that his brother loved him so much. Regulus was one of his biggest regret in his past life.

Regulus' face brightened up. Sirius could see large grin on his father's face. And he wanted that grin to always be there. Yes, it hurt that James didn't believe him, but he had someone who loved him and believed him wholeheartedly. This time he would live for this Regulus. He would deal with James, Remus and Chosen One when it was time. But right now, only people important to him were Regulus and Marlene. And maybe he should add Dorcas to the list. This was enough.

So Sirius decided to stop making fuss while wearing the agonizing robes. Sirius decided to play with his father who was already dressed in very expensive formal robes. He could see genuine happiness on Regulus' face that his son was vying for his attention and trying to play with him.

Both father and son were laughing when Marlene and Dorcas entered.

Sirius saw his father's eyes light up when he saw his mother. So Sirius also decided to check out the two witches who have entered.

 _Ok check out doesn't sound very proper considering one is my mother and other is my Aunt._

Sirius was really flabbergasted. Marlene and Dorcas were naturally beautiful but right now they looked like princesses from muggle fairy tales. Their hair and makeup was perfectly done. Their dresses were beautiful. And he could completely understand why his father's eyes were shining on seeing his wife.

"You both look beautiful," said Regulus.

"Save your praise for your wife. I am heading to Black Manor. I have to see the catering arrangements. I still can't believe Aunt Walburgha chose my restaurant for this event. Don't be late," said Dorcas and left after winking at Marlene.

Regulus moved towards Marlene with Sirius still in his arms and kissed Marlene rather passionately.

 _Ok that's not what I want to see as a baby. Atleast put me back in cot, brother._

Sirius started making fuss so that his parents would realize that he is still there.

"Looks like little one doesn't like when you don't give him your full attention, " said Marlene.

 _Well I don't really mind but seriously you two can give each other your full attention when I am safely tucked away somewhere where I can't see and hear your actions. Being thirty something year old in baby's body means I understand ,well, everything._

Regulus laughed and said," Oh! Even Sirius can see how beautiful his mother looks."

Marlene smiled shyly and took Sirius from Regulus.

Marlene cooed," My little Sirius looks so handsome. "

"And what about your Regulus?" asked Regulus playfully.

This time Marlene kissed Regulus and said,"I am married to the most beautiful wizard in the world; well second most beautiful, because my little Sirius is most beautiful in the whole world."

Sirius smirked, well, some kind of baby smirk. Regulus saw his baby smirk and laughed.

"Oh Merlin! This little guy is going to break so many hearts, " said Regulus.

Marlene and Regulus looked at him and smiled.

The way they smiled at him made Sirius realize that he was their whole world.

_-_-_-...-...#_-

Now at party, Sirius was sitting on a golden baby chair which was literally gold plated and was enough proof for him that Grandfather Pollux had finally departed the land of sane. He was sure that in a year or two, he won't be using this assumably good present from Pollux Black. He had been showered with weird gifts by the pureblood families present at this 'auspicious' occasion.

For example , He was given a small silver cane on top of which was a big diamond with his family Crest engraved below the diamond, by Lucius Malfoy. Being pureblood he had seen very strange things but he was still unable to understand Malfoy 's obsession with canes. Exactly what did Malfoy think a month and half old baby could do with cane was beyond his comprehension.

Then he had received small gold daggers from Mr. and Mrs. Lestrange, who Sirius noted weren't in Azkaban this time around. Well, this gift was from Bellatrix so he could assume that she wanted him to torture house-elf or some pet with these daggers. But how these people couldn't realize that babies can't exactly move around to torture others or walk with cane was beyond him.

Sirius had decided to form a wishlist in his mind for things he would do when he was out of baby phase. Right now, top of the list was to eat at Dorcas' restaurant because the smells that wafted out of dining area were simply mouth-watering. He wanted to float there and eat but here he was sitting on his gold baby throne, looking at people who were eating with envy in his eyes. Marlene and Dorcas were now sitting on his sides. He was eyeing their plates.

" We are moving to France," said Marlene.

At once, Sirius' mind was off food.

"Well, I hope that's not forever, " said Dorcas.

"No,it's not. We will come back after a few years. Like you said after things settle down a bit. Besides, Regulus has arranged for multi-use portkey for his parents and you, so that you can visit any time," said Marlene.

"You know Marls, I will miss you," said Dorcas.

"I know that's why Regulus insisted on portkey so you can visit whenever you want," said Marlene.

Sirius was now thinking if he was still fluent in French ;not that he could speak even if he was, until his baby phase was over.

After few weeks, Sirius was in France with his parents.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_;-_-_-_-

 **After 4 years**

 **James Potter PoV**

James Potter had lived a life of love and luxury. Potters weren't extremely wealthy like Blacks, Malfoys or Parkinsons but they were quite well-off.

He has always been confident, carefree, witty, playful and mischievous; and these were the qualities he liked most in himself. However, one fateful night had changed everything. Yes, that was the night when Sirius Black was killed and Peter informed him that Sirius Black had been a spy. The stuttering Peter who always followed him and Sirius around, James believed couldn't be telling lies. The part of him that he liked most had died that night with Sirius Black. As to why he believed that Sirius was spy, it was because sometimes even he was afraid of Sirius. James knew, even though Sirius never showed, that Sirius was far too talented and adept in ways of magic. James knew that Sirius hid this behind his playful side. James knew that despite everything, Sirius was a Black. James knew that Sirius would never abandon Regulus Black, a marked Death Eater. That is why when Peter had told him about how he ended up defeating Voldemort and Sirius Black in a single night, just because of his luck and coincidence, he believed Peter. Because Peter didn't portray himself as a hero, he simply told his friends, James and Remus, that it was all a big mess of coincidences that led to downfall of Dark Lord and his right hand man. Peter had even told this story to Dumbledore, Dumbledore had even searched memories of Peter and few of then have included Sirius Black meeting Death Eater, Regulus Black. Since it was so improbable, Dumbledore had declared that Peter Pettigrew is the Chosen One. Somehow this news had reached Rita Skeeter and she announced this to the world. Peter became a fascination to public , as to how underdog defeated the wizards who underestimated him. The stories were highly embellished but people like stories where underdog wins. And he had seen Peter changing as the stories changed. He was still friend of Peter and after death of Sirius Black, he had named Peter, godfather of his son, Harry Potter. Remus, at first, was skeptical to Peter's defeating two greatest dark wizards but in the end, he had agreed with James and Peter.

With Death of Sirius Black, they were no longer Marauders. There were no Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. Now it was just Remus, Peter and James.

Remus, however, was no longer a close friend like before and lived in some old cottage away from civilization. With the end of Marauders, came end of spending full moons with werewolf. He did meet Remus from time to time in Diagon Alley. Moreover, Lily had shown clear dislike for his friendship with werewolf stating how it could be dangerous for Harry. James had snorted mentally at his wife's stupid stance and was sure that this was Molly Weasley 's usual meddling. But he had still done what his wife wanted. Because now he didn't wanted to live for friends but for his family. Yes, Sirius Black had made sure of that.

Sirius Black, he hated him with passion yet at the same time he loved him. Was it ok to love someone who betrayed you ? Was it ok to love a dark wizard? All this confusion inside him, had made him a bitter man. He was now a serious, law abiding and extremely boring ministry worker. This was, infact, proven to him when Arthur Weasley 's most boring and uptight son, Percy Weasley, declared him to be his ideal.

Today, he was at Diagon Alley with his wife and son. While they were shopping, he decided to drop by Leaky Cauldron for a pint. As he was standing in front of wall that separated Diagon Alley and Leaky Cauldron, the wall suddenly opened. He lifted his eyes to see Marlene laughing and looking at something or someone on her left side.

Marlene has been his first girlfriend, his first love and his first kiss. Lily was love of his life but there are some things about your first love, you never forget. He was sure that Marlene has become even more beautiful than before.

'Marls," said James.

Suddenly Marlene looked at him. Her expression changed from delight to anger and she replied venomously, "It's Mrs. Black for you, Mr. Potter."

Her sudden change of mood had startled him. She turned away from him as a boy barely three or four year old ran to her.

"Mom, Uncle Tom said he will make me most delicious macarons," said the little boy. Little boy on seeing his mother tensed had turned towards him.

When James saw the boy, he felt his world turn upside-down again. Boy was exact copy of none other than Sirius Black. The same aristocratic features, the same silky black hair and damn, the same silver eyes. The silver eyes that bore into your soul. Multiple feelings passed through his mind but he knew he couldn't keep looking at those silver eyes. Those silver eyes, he felt, were asking him why he didn't trust him, why he didn't trust Sirius Black.

He tore away from those eyes, he let hate consume him once more and said in the most bitter tone he could muster, " I see, Mrs. Black. You ensured that world would still have dark wizards even if Dark Lord was gone. This Black spawn would be able to sit on your Dark Lord's mantle."

A strong stinging hex hit him. He saw that Dorcas had her wand raised at him. Ofcourse, Black Spawn would be protected by Black's sex slave.

Meanwhile, Lily had come behind him and he internally groaned on seeing Molly Weasley tagging along.

Lily and Molly looked at James and then at Marlene and Dorcas. Molly was now looking at Dorcas with a smug look but Lily's eyes were on the boy. James knew that Lily, too was amazed as boy was exact copy of Sirius Black.

Molly Weasley,ofcourse, couldn't keep her mouth shut and said," Don't know why Tom let these whores enter his establishment. Maybe, we should start going somewhere else."

Before, Dorcas or Marlene could move, Molly Weasley was thrown backwards by some unknown force.

Nobody knew what it was. But James did because he looked into those silver eyes again, which were now filled with rage. Yes, it was this rage, this powerful magic crackling in the air, this was Sirius Black. This was Sirius Black, he was afraid of.

Lily woke him up from his speculations and ran towards Molly. James picked up Harry and followed his wife.

Then he turned back once again to see the boy. He saw boy stare back at him. He knew that his weekend would now be spent with firewhisky. Sirius Black was back to torment him again.


	4. Chapter 4

The Other World

SUMMARY:

Sirius Black son of Orion Black falls through The Veil and is reborn as Sirius Black son of Regulus Black in the other world. And well, wherever Sirius goes, Sirius is Sirius.

Author's Note: Italics are thoughts of people when story is from their POV. English is not my native language.

-….-….-…..-….-…-….

Chapter 3

 **After two years**

 _Meaning Sirius is six years old now._

REMUS LUPIN POV

Remus Lupin wanted to die. He knew he could not commit suicide because he was a coward. Guilt was eating him up. Ever since he agreed with James and Peter about Sirius being Death Eater, he had been restless. He was a coward, and his selfishness had made him betray his best friend. He knew he was not Sirius' best friend but Sirius was his best friend. He always held to the notion that it was James keeping them together as Marauders. This, however, proved to be wrong when Sirius Black died. Remus had then realized that it had always been Sirius. The crazy Sirius who was first one to figure out that Remus was a werewolf, first one to suggest becoming animagus, first one to complete animagus process, first one to learn healing magic to help Remus with cuts and bruises, and the list goes on. Remus never showed it like Peter did. But, unlike Peter who followed James, Remus followed Sirius. Not in the way Peter hero-worshipped James, it was just that Sirius was the only one who could cajole him to do crazy things and act on his hairbrained schemes.

Later, he saw people who supported Sirius Black, ostracized. Again, his cowardly nature took over and he backed away from everything. When Dorcas' scandal became highlight of every newspaper and magazine; he, forever, gave up the idea of standing up for Sirius. Dorcas' scandal made it clear to him that Sirius Black was innocent. Dorcas did have crush on Sirius in school, but one could hardly hold it against her as every girl who crossed path with his impossibly good looking friend was the same. He kept justifying himself by saying again and again in his mind that he was a werewolf and if he even said Sirius and innocent in single sentence, he would be thrown in Azkaban. Not everybody was like Sirius or Dorcas or Marlene. They were brave, true Gryffindors. He knew Sirius would not care about his own well-being if he could help those he love. He was certain that if Sirius were alive, he would not leave Remus alone, like James and Peter, on nights of full moon; even if he had betrayed him. That was why he never opened the door when Regulus Black came. He was too ashamed of himself to face the brother of his best friend, who he had betrayed.

Peter abandoning him did not matter to him for he was sure Peter was not some Chosen One and was involved, somehow, in killing Sirius. He just did not know whether it was accidental or intentional. Yet, he could not, for even one second, understand the gullibility of Albus Dumbledore who declared Peter to be the Chosen One.

What surprised him most after his own cowardice was attitude of James and Lily. Lily was one of the kindest people he had ever come across. As soon as debacle of Dark Lord was over, Lily became cold; well cold to him, at least. Lily was a brilliant witch, yet she left her job at Ministry and became a housewife; not that it was a bad thing but she spent time reading Witch Weekly and gossiping with her new friends. New friends included Molly Weasley, Peter's wife Dolores Umbridge, ancient goat Muriel, Mrs. Diggory, and few others. Her friends from Hogwarts, Alice, Dorcas and Marlene, were no longer part of her life. Dorcas and Marlene were more like her enemies now. In addition, Alice had distanced herself from this chaos. Though he had hear rumors that Alice's son Neville was friends with James' son.

He came across new 'friends' of Lily when he attended party at their house on Christmas Eve. Dolores Pettigrew literally screamed when he entered kitchen to get bottle of wine, calling him dark creature. Molly Weasley squealed and backed away. Other women shuddered or something like that. Only Lily was unaffected and confused at reaction of other women present. However, after this party, Lily started ignoring him, whenever he visited, as if he did not exist. On his last visit, he was standing outside their door, just as he was about to knock, he heard Lily shouting at James that werewolves were dangerous and she wanted to keep her son safe. And then, his heart broke or whatever of it was left after Sirius' death.

 _So now I am a danger to Prongs' son, no not Prongs' son, but James ' son._

Next day he got letter from James stating that he could no longer be friends with him due to some family complications. He was a man, a bloody werewolf, but he wept for days. He just kept lying on his couch; he did not want to move. He did not have any alcohol to drown in his sorrows. He did not have any food. He laughed at the thought of werewolf dying of starvation. He could hear Padfoot in his mind saying 'Really Moony, and here I thought you were made of tougher stuff.' He then lost consciousness.

He did not know, after how much time he woke up but his house was filled with heavenly aromas. He could hear someone in his kitchen making food. He saw few empty potion bottles on the side table. The smell of chicken stew hit his nose; this smell, it made him run towards kitchen. He opened the door and excitedly said, "Padfoot." It wasn't Padfoot like he wanted, it was an older woman. It was Euphemia Potter, mother of James Potter.

He remembered his tone was harsh when he asked her why she was here. Older woman did not bother answering him, instead asked him to go take shower and come down for dinner. He tried to protest but a glare from older woman was signal enough for him to do what was asked. After shower, he was sitting on table. There were multiple items to choose from, yet all he wanted to eat was chicken stew. Tears started flowing down his eyes but he kept eating that damn stew. He was choking on sobs now.

Euphemia Potter broke the silence, "I taught him how to make this stew."

Remus looked up and saw that Euphemia Potter's eyes were wet with unshed tears.

She continued, "James told me about letter today when I asked him about your whereabouts. That night, I did not lose one son but both of my sons. James is an idiot, he despite being a grown-up man, does not know how to deal with loss of Sirius. James thinks it would be easier if he considers Sirius to be traitor, a dark wizard. So he could hate him, hate him not for being a traitor or dark wizard, but hate him for leaving him. But we can't criticize James because we all are idiots. "

Remus remembered himself saying," I want to hate him but I can't."

After that, Euphemia Potter had gone all 'angry mother ' mode. He, however, found it to be endearing. And after how many years he didn't remember, he had truly laughed which resulted in more scolding and even a hex.

After that, he picked himself up. He retreated to his shell where he will be alone but no one could hurt him. He became just as he was before he met Marauders.

He was currently working as assistant at supermarket. The biggest advantage of working in supermarket was that he could take 'expired' food items free. This saved him a lot of money and enabled him to eat to his fill, few times a month. He still met Euphemia Potter. She always invited him to her cottage, where she lived alone, whenever she made chicken stew.

Today, he got his paycheck and for once, decided to splurge a little by eating at Leaky Cauldron. Full moon was few days away and he really wanted to eat steak. He was sitting alone at the corner table. Then he heard a laugh, a boisterous laugh of a woman he had known. He was right it was Dorcas. Dorcas Meadows and Marlene Black were sitting few tables away from him and enjoying butterbeers. Unlike the most people from their generation, both Dorcas and Marlene looked peaceful. Then he saw Alice along with her son cautiously approaching the table. Dorcas and Marlene looked up at Alice. Marlene, the gentlest woman he knew, smiled at Alice while the ever-exuberant Dorcas had a blank face.

"I was wondering if I could join you," said Alice in a small voice.

Then the whirlwind of energy, old woman named Augusta Longbottom had entered and sat down on their table without even asking. Dorcas and Alice were bewildered but Marlene continued smiling.

"Alice, why are you standing? Sit down, already," said Augusta Longbottom.

Alice, then shyly sat at the table with her son.

"So how is old Walburgha doing?" asked Augusta, ignoring the heavy atmosphere.

Marlene laughed and said," Do not call her old on her face, I do not want to deal with another dueling session. Last time both of you literally destroyed the parlor."

Remus wondered as to why these old women, even after losing so much, were so full of life. Both Augusta and Walburgha had lost their sons, well for Walburgha it might be good riddance; but Frank was only son of Augusta.

Marlene continued, "She is in the Apothecary right across Quality Quidditch Shop. "

Augusta then stood up suddenly and said, "Don't you blame us for destruction of parlor when most of it was done by your son. Oh, one day I will get my hands on that little devil. Anyway, I will go meet Walburgha. You, young ladies have fun."

Remus smiled at hearing about Marlene's son destroying parlor and annoying his grandmother and her friends. It reminded him of Sirius. He knew Marlene was married to Regulus Black and they had a son. Nevertheless, he had never seen this boy nor did he know his name. He could not afford daily subscription of Daily Prophet, so he had cancelled it and his only link to information about wizarding world was cut.

He heard Alice say," I am sorry for not contacting you before. But after Frank, I just couldn't deal with, well, anything. I only meet a few people, that too, because of Neville"

Marlene smiled and said," You do not have to apologize for anything, Alice. Everybody dealt with their losses in a their own way and many did not deal with them at all."

Dorcas quipped, "If there is anybody you should apologize, it should be Godric Gryffindor. Seriously, almost all of the Gryffindors I know turned out to be anything but brave."

Remus felt miserable at Dorcas' and Marlene 's comments.

Alice, this time, truly smiled and said," Good to know, you are still the same, Dorcas."

Finally, the girls laughed. Remus wondered if he and his friends would someday reconcile and laugh like this. He had often heard stories of how male species were better when it came to friendship than females but looking at these girls, he felt more like female species in the stories. But he knew even if they get together, they will always be incomplete. Because that bark like laughter won't be joining them.

"So how does Aunt Walburgha know Alice's mother in law? "asked Dorcas.

"These ladies, were bored so they decided it would be nice to have tea parties and enjoy each other's company," said Marlene avoiding eyes of Dorcas and Alice. Alice's son, Neville was drinking pumpkin juice and looking here and there.

"So what aren't you telling us?" asked Dorcas and smirked.

"Oh well! It will not hurt to tell you guys. Well, it was more like my son insisted that his grandparents should regularly have tea parties and invite their friends. I fully supported the idea, floating on clouds thinking how considerate my son is despite being a kid. That was until Regulus told me that night when I brought up the topic, that Sirius only wanted more targets, so he could have more fun."

Dorcas laughed so loudly, that whole Leaky Cauldron looked towards their table. Remus, however, was more interested in knowing about this Sirius, which he assumed was her son's name.

"Well, Regulus also laughed like this at my naivety," said Marlene and chuckled.

"Sirius?" asked Alice.

"Yes, Sirius Orion Black, that's my son's name," said Marlene. Remus noted there was hint of pride in her voice.

Remus did not realize it until later but he was grinning like an idiot.

"And I am assuming listening to your stories that he takes after his namesake," said Alice.

"Just wait till you see the boy, Alice. You will understand everything," said Dorcas.

"He is here?" asked Alice.

"Yes, he is with Regulus in Diagon Alley right now, most probably causing some kind of trouble," said Dorcas.

"I would like Neville to meet him," said Alice.

"It would really be nice," said Marlene.

"And dangerous for Neville, "added Dorcas.

Remus was now laughing silently. He had decided that he would stay here until he saw this boy. He did not know why but suddenly he felt like a teenager sneaking into some secret passageway in Hogwarts.

Marlene glared at Dorcas.

"What? I had to ban your son from my restaurant after he spiked water making all customers sing and hallucinate. At the same time, skin color of all customers changed. They thought something was wrong with food. I had to deal with idiotic ministry workers for three days. And after all that your husband had the audacity to laugh at my misery claiming that his son was bored," said Dorcas.

Alice was now laughing. So was Remus.

Marlene and Dorcas joined shortly.

"If he is like this now, I wonder what kind of havoc he will cause in Hogwarts, "said Alice.

"Merlin help Hogwarts, "said Dorcas.

"So, how is your restaurant going? "asked Alice.

"Excellent actually. I have so much money these days that I don't know what to do with it," said Dorcas.

"What are you doing, nowadays, Alice? Last, I heard you quit being an Auror, "asked Marlene.

"Yes, I now work as assistant director in Department of International Magical Cooperation. After Frank, I didn't want to do any dangerous job because I don't want to leave my son alone," said Alice with a sad smile.

"Wow, assistant director. Now, I have someone to deal with ministry on my behalf, "said Dorcas happily.

Alice replied," Of course, any way I can help. So Marlene what about you?"

Marlene replied, "Well, I am too busy with my son that I hardly have time for anything time-consuming."

"More like cleaning up messes created by her son," added Dorcas.

Marlene playfully hit Dorcas and continued, "I work as part-time curse-breaker for Gringotts."

"And Goblins tried to ban her son from Bank when he levitated the cart using his grandfather's wand to go to lowest level and befriend the dragon there," chuckled Dorcas.

"Oh Merlin, don't remind me the chaos that ensued. After that, I am not allowed to bring my son or any other family when I go to work. Seriously, Uncle Orion didn't even know that Sirius had stolen his wand when he dropped us off at Gringotts that day," said Marlene shaking her head.

The three witches started laughing. Remus was laughing along with them.

Neville nervously asked, "Why did he want to befriend a dragon?"

Dorcas replied, "Neville, if he was a good boy like you, he won't think of that but let's just say he has too much excess energy and boys around his age can't keep up with him so dragon might be only creature..,"

Alice cut her off, "Dorcas."

"Anyway, Neville, you will understand when you meet him. Since Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini and other pureblood scions just run away when our little boy looks at them and smirks, "said Dorcas in an amused tone.

"Stop scaring the boy," said Marlene.

"I am just mentally preparing him for when he meets the terror you gave birth to," said Dorcas.

Remus, no longer could laugh silently. He was laughing loudly. People looked towards him but he adjusted his cloak so no one could see his face.

"I am friends with Harry and Ron. They are not like that, "said Neville.

"Who are Harry and Ron?" asked Dorcas.

However, atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Even Remus felt it.

Alice replied quietly, "Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. "

All Dorcas could reply was, 'oh!''.

They sat there in silence but eventually Tom, the owner of Leaky Cauldron interrupted them.

He handed a package to Marlene and said, "Here is monthly tribute to that little devil. Kindly ask him to spare my establishment this month."

Even though Tom was trying to sound serious, Remus could see his toothy grin and hear amusement in his voice. Marlene took the package, a bit abashed. Tom returned to the counter.

"Monthly tribute?" questioned Alice.

Dorcas snorted, "Tom makes most delicious macarons and he had the misfortune of making them for Sirius, once. Now, he has to make them on monthly basis else, Sirius, well, behaves like Sirius. Just imagine all your customers stuck to their chairs for hours."

Remus felt like he was recalling his Marauder days.

Just then, someone growled loudly and tapped loudly with a cane on the table, witches were sitting. Remus looked towards the odd woman. He could not see her face. She had short hair, which were constantly changing colors, and she wore a long glittering evening gown. However, when women turned sideways, Remus eyes were wide as saucers and he sprayed the butterbeer, he was drinking on his table. His reaction was not peculiar because everybody in the Leaky Cauldron had the same reaction when they recognized the odd woman.

Well, the odd woman was not woman at all. It was the most feared Auror in the Ministry, Head of Auror Department, Alastor Moody.

"Undo the spell, Marlene. I am going to arrest that little devil and throw him into Azkaban, "growled Moody.

Dorcas started laughing. Marlene and Alice were trying to control their laughter. Neville's mouth was opening and closing like a goldfish.

Dorcas' laughter turned on some kind of switch and everybody in Leaky Cauldron was laughing. Some even fell from their chairs.

"Why can't you do that yourself? " Alice asked in between her guffaws of laughter.

"It's a complicated ward and cannot be undone by the same wand that was used to cast it," said Moody.

"Isn't he only six years old? Where could he learn something like that?" asked Alice curiously.

"Ask his parents," said Moody glaring at Marlene.

Tom meanwhile came with a glass of firewhisky and handed to Moody while saying 'on the house'.

Moody drank the whole glass in one go and slammed the glass on the witches' table.

"So much for your constant vigilance, you can't even protect your wand from the kid," laughed Dorcas.

"Sometimes, I feel like they raised their son to be a pickpocket," said Moody still glaring at Marlene.

Moody continued, "So where did he learn it. This is not like when he placed Devil Snare under desks of Aurors or when he released dozens of Cornish pixies during Wizengamot session."

Remus was now doubling over laughter.

So were the witches except Marlene. Neville still had that flabbergasted look on his face.

Marlene replied lamely, "He spends lots of time in library. "

Just then, he heard the voice of man say," Mr. Moody, if you will let me help you."

He shifted his attention towards the man, it was Regulus Black.

Moody replied angrily, "Like I would let any Black point their wands at me. Marlene, you undo it."

Then came a voice of boy, the boy he had been waiting to see. The boy was shaking his head lightly; his one hand was on his head, so he could not see his face.

"Mr. Alastor Moody, if you promise to take me to the dragon reserve that you will be inspecting where they found the new species, I would immediately undo it," said the boy.

Then boy ran his hand through his hair. His silky black hair fell on his face gracefully. He had beautiful aristocratic feature that were trademark of Blacks. Then Remus saw his eyes. He did not see eyes of son of Marlene and Regulus; he saw eyes of Padfoot, his friend Sirius Black.

Remus was sure; he now had similar expression on his face as Neville. This boy was exact copy of Sirius Black.

Then the boy moved towards Moody. One of the customers clapped on the boy's back and said, "Good one".

The boy smiled at that customer.

Another customer said," Sirius, when will you visit next time. I will come."

Regulus was smirking at Moody.

Then boy said to Moody, "You know it's a blood ward. Only Black can remove it. That's why you didn't ask Aunt Dorcas, you asked my mom, Marlene 'Black'."

The boy smirked. Remus saw it was trademark Sirius Black smirk. Remus was so happy that he had almost forgotten this was not Padfoot.

Just then, Walburgha and Augusta entered and it was as if someone had poured bucket of ice water on him. He remembered this was not his Sirius Black. His friend Sirius Black was dead. Remus did not realize but tears were flowing down his face.

He could hear Walburgha removing spell despite multiple protests by Moody. He could hear Moody threatening Walburgha to arrest her grandson. He could hear as Moody grumbled that he would pick Sirius up at ten in the morning on Friday. He could hear the bark like laughter of the boy who was Sirius Black yet was not Sirius Black. He had not realize that he was sobbing now.

He did not realize that boy has come over his table when he had heard his sobs.

The boy gently poked him. He was startled and his cloak fell from his face. His puffy eyes were staring into silver eyes that he had missed. He could see anger in those silver eyes. Then the boy gave him handkerchief and said angrily, "You are an idiot."

Then the boy left angrily. Boy's father seeing his son's anger had come over to see what made his boy angry. Remus saw flash of anger on Regulus' face on recognizing him.

"That was my son, Sirius Orion Black," said Regulus and left.

Remus lifted his head to see that only Alice and Neville were left of the group.

He got up and bought a bottle of firewhisky; apparated to his cottage. He did not want to feel anything because he knew, now, Sirius Black will haunt him again. Should he get drunk? Would that help? He didn't do anything but kept looking at the handkerchief the boy gave him.

-;-;-_-_-_-_-_-

 **Severus Snape POV**

Severus Snape had been sitting at the far corner of Leaky Cauldron. He worked as Potions Master in Hogwarts. He was here just because he wanted to get drunk. He did not know where he wanted to go, so he had just been standing still for years.

He was still friends with Lily. After all, the so-called Chosen One had announced to the world that Severus was a spy for Order. Severus was awarded Order of Merlin. Lily has welcomed him back in her life with open arms. Nevertheless, somewhere after the war, Lily that he loved was no longer there. The kind, logical, fiery red head with beautiful green eyes had been replaced with fiery red head with beautiful green eyes who read Witch Weekly, gossiped with other housewives, held tea parties similar to the pureblood tea parties, which he had once or twice attended, talked about latest fashion in robes, bad mouthed Blacks and so on. His Lily was never vain, but this new Lily was

.

This new Lily had invited him to dinner year or two back. He accepted the invitation. When he ventured into Potter House he was met by a disgruntled James Potter and extra buoyant Peter Pettigrew aka Chosen One. He exchanged the formal pleasantries. Pettigrew took no time to remind him how he was responsible for him not being in Azkaban and his Order of Merlin, like always. Severus, however, not for a single moment had believed Pettigrew to be Chosen One. Yes, Dark Lord was gone but Severus was sure, it had something to do with Sirius Black rather than Pettigrew. He hated Sirius Black yet he felt pity for the man. Even if he was dead, his friends had abandoned him rather his enemies were the ones who stood up for him.

He remained quiet mostly. He saw that he was not the only one. James Potter had rarely spoken that evening. He mentally snorted at James Potter who was now even more boring than flobberworm. However, he thought that Potter deserved it. Potter deserved it for the way he treated him at Hogwarts. Potter deserved it because Potter took two things from him that he had wanted as a child, Lily's love and Black's friendship. Snape covered his laugh with cough when he thought of the Marauders' friendship. He knew the other men had looked at him when he had coughed, more like laughed. He, however, turned his attention to kids playing on the carpet, Harry Potter and Albus Pettigrew. How Pettigrew wasn't in Slytherin was a mystery to him because he was cunning enough to play the whole wizarding world; well except for Black family and Death Eaters.

It was when the dinner started that his disappointment began. He was sure, after that dinner that he could not love the love of his life anymore.

"Did you see the designer robes Narcissa was wearing at Club? She was acting like she was most gorgeous woman alive on earth," said Lily in annoyed tone.

Well, Snape had to agree with Narcissa. Beauty of Blacks was just out of this world. Yes, Lily was extremely beautiful but well hardly anyone surpassed Black in that department.

Dolores replied, "You showed her good when you 'accidentally' dropped wine on her dress."

Pettigrew and the two witches laughed. Snape did not laugh and neither did James. He looked at James; he saw that James was not listening to the conversation at all.

"I would have done more if Bellatrix hadn't joined her sister, "said Lily.

"That woman is crazy. Even Andromeda avoids her like plague, "said Dolores.

Severus hated to admit that this time he agreed with Dolores. To Severus, it was no mystery as to why Pettigrew had married a woman, fifteen years older than him. It was because of all the proposals that Chosen One received, Umbridge was richest. The real wealthy families like Blacks, Malfoys, Lestranges, etc wanted to do nothing with Chosen One. In fact, they did not believe that he was Chosen One.

"Anyway, I doubt anyone will be able to look more beautiful than me at the autumn gala. I asked Mrs. Potter for that diamond necklace encrusted with rubies and emeralds. She was very reluctant at first but I told her as old as she is, she does not need it. She is willing to let me borrow it, at least" said Lily airily.

This, however, got James' attention.

He said angrily, "You will not ask for that necklace or wear it."

Lily replied angrily, "It's not like your mother wears it, anymore. Moreover, she is old, so all her jewelry should be passed down to me."

Severus could not believe that this was Lily.

James stood up angrily, "Yes, all Potter heirlooms will be given to you. But that necklace… that necklace is a Black heirloom. It was given to my mother by… by… by Sirius Black."

Severus noted that James had closed his eyes when he said the name of 'Sirius Black'.

After few moments, he also noted that Dolores Umbridge was a colossal idiot when she chimed in, "Oh Lily, you should wear it. What other way to rub it on the faces of Black family that Potter is wearing their precious heirloom. "

James glared at Dolores and said, "Stay out of it."

Lily replied, "Why should she stay out of it? James, I am going to wear that necklace and you will not be able to do anything about it. I want to show all those purebloods that I can be as elegant and beautiful as them."

Severus knew he had to stay quiet but a single word escaped his mouth, "Why?"

At this, all occupants of table looked at him.

Lily replied, "Oh Severus, I don't think you will understand the workings of upper circle of society. After all, your family, well, you will not understand. "

He saw Dolores and Pettigrew nod at Lily's response.

It was as if someone has kicked him in the belly. He grabbed the fork tightly to not let any emotions show. But he knew that this girl wasn't his best friend Lily, she was some stranger.

James banged at the table and said," And you think you can understand the workings of Upper circle of wizarding society. "

After this, James snorted and left the room.

Severus, too, excused himself and left. He never accepted any dinner invitations from Potters after that dinner. He still exchanged letters with Lily but he did not meet her.

He was lonely. Therefore, he had decided to spend the evening in Leaky Cauldron getting drunk, which he knew was completely out of character for him. Nevertheless, he wanted to see what will happen if he over-indulged for one night.

Then, he saw Marlene, Dorcas and Alice. They were still the same as they had been in Hogwarts. All of them have suffered losses. But why was Lily different?

Then he had heard about the boy named Sirius Black and all the mischief he had caused. Despite himself, he had laughed like others on Moody. Maybe, he was too drunk. But one thought constantly ran through his mind. Maybe this boy can make the stagnant waters flow again.

Severus was the last one to leave Leaky Cauldron and he knew he was too drunk. He was stumbling. Then, his foot hit a stone on the pavement; he lost his balance and fell on the woman coming from opposite direction.

His black beady eyes met doe like, brown eyes. He liked those eyes. They were not clouded like Lily's eyes.

Then the woman sighed and said, "Really, Severus."

After that, Severus blacked out.

Severus woke up with splitting headache next morning. When he looked around, he saw he was in luxurious room. He tried to get up but his head was killing him. Then, he saw Sobering Potion on his bedside table along with Pepper Up potion. He drank both of them and went outside room. Smell of bacon and eggs took him to dining room. He was shocked to see the person sitting in dining room. He did remember liking the eyes of woman who had apparently brought him here.

However, he did not think, he could think like that about Augusta Longbottom.

Yes, it was formidable Augusta Longbottom sitting on a big dining table alone.

He cleared his throat.

Augusta looked at him and said nonchalantly, "So, you are awake. Come have breakfast."

Severus, reluctantly, joined her on table, trying his best not to look at Augusta 's eyes. He knew he felt romantically attracted to those eyes. No, he was not in love or anything but, he was after all, a man.

"You, young people, have no tolerance for alcohol. My husband was a real man. Stayed upright even after four bottles of firewhisky," said Augusta.

"If I may ask, how did I get here," asked Severus.

"I brought you to the Longbottom Manor, "said Augusta.

At this, Severus hurriedly stood up, thanked her and literally ran out of Manor.

He apparated to Hogsmeade. Once there, he sat down on the bench. His head was in his hands.

 _First I am putting my hopes on kid named Sirius Black, then I become romantically attracted to Augusta Longbottom. I am never getting drunk again._

 **James Potter PoV**

Today, there was get together in the Potter House. They have decided to invite friends and family for BBQ in the back lawn. James was assembling the grill in the lawn.

Soon, Weasleys and Pettigrews joined him in the lawn. His mother was also sitting quietly on the porch reading some book. He and his mother have not been on best of terms since he chose to believe Peter. His mother still believed that Sirius Black was innocent. This had created a rift between mother and son. His mother lived alone in the cottage on the hills; cottage that belonged to Sirius Black. Not many people were aware of it. This had been another reason for dispute, when his mother refused to move out. Blacks have never claimed that cottage. Euphemia Potter worked as Head Healer in St Mungos and was one of the best. His mother was not as close to his family as he wanted her to be. Lily's attitude didn't help either. However, he still invited her to every dinner and his mother came to every event; for this, he was eternally grateful to his mother.

He saw Alice and Neville come and smiled at them. Alice, he noticed, looked refreshed unlike her usual dull self. He thought something good might have happened, whatever it was he was happy for her.

Finally the BBQ was done and all guests were seated on the table eating dinner.

Neville was talking continuously which was odd for the shy boy and he saw that other boys were listening to him with rapt attention.

He heard Neville tell about some boy who tried to befriend Dragon in Gringotts, releasing Cornish Pixies on Wizengamot, at that he commented that they probably deserved it.

Then Neville told about the prank the boy had played on Moody in detail. And James was laughing, really laughing. It was laugh of Prongs, it was laugh of James Potter from Hogwarts. He could see his mother genuinely smiling at him. However, he could see disdain on face of Molly, Dolores and well, Percy. Lily was just looking at him oddly.

Neville, he could see was blooming that even adults were paying attention to his story. Alice also seemed happy.

"Oh, I need to meet this boy. Godric, we could have so much fun, "said James without thinking.

To which Neville replied," Oh he often goes to Ministry with his dad. Maybe you can meet him there. Moody said he placed Devil's Snare plants under desks of Aurors one day. I spent next day in library finding out about Devils Snare."

Arthur explained to boys who did not know about the plant.

Dolores and Molly were expressing their contempt on such behavior. Percy was not happy and looking at James with a disapproving stare. After all, James was Percy's ideal.

James, Arthur, Peter and boys were laughing. Peter, he saw stopped after Dolores glared at him.

James after laughing, finally said, "What's his name? I would love to meet him."

Neville excitedly continued,"He is son of mom's friends. You know, Leaky Cauldron and Ice Cream shop give him monthly tribute so he doesn't prank them."

James again laughed.

Then Neville said," His name is Sirius Black."

James felt like time had stopped. He saw unshed tears in his mother's eyes. He was sure his eyes too were wet with unshed tears. There was pin drop silence. He saw Neville look nervously towards his mother. But Alice confidently smiled at her son. James took a long breath. Peter was looking angrily at Neville.

Molly Weasley banged the table, ending the silence, and said angrily, "Alice, what were you thinking? Letting your boy near that dark wizard."

"Sirius is just a kid. He is no dark wizard, "said Alice calmly.

"Are you telling me that you are meeting those whores? "said Dolores venomously.

"Kindly mind your language in front of my son. And yes, I met Marlene and Dorcas. To tell the truth, I finally feel refreshed after meeting them. And yes, I will meet them again," said Alice firmly.

"Then I suppose there is no place at this table for you or your son," said Molly Weasley.

James had had enough of meddling Molly Weasley.

"And what right do you have to decide who could or couldn't join the Potters at their table," said James with a voice full of cold fury.

"I am only trying to protect the children. Did you not hear how that kid used advanced magic, when he is only six years old? He will be next Dark Lord," said Molly in raised voice.

James saw Alice and Neville get up. He snapped," Sit down, Alice. And Molly you are no longer welcome at any Potter property. Kindly leave."

He saw that Peter was looking at him. There was fear in Peter's eyes which he couldn't comprehend.

Lily suddenly stood up and shouted," James you cannot do that. She is my friend."

James replied in a firm tone," I can and I will. If I remember correctly, few years ago, you wanted to understand the workings of Upper echelons of wizarding world. I think it is time I teach you that. I am Head of this House and you will do what I say."

He saw that Weasleys were leaving.

He said," Arthur, you and your kids are welcome. However, I am sorry about your wife. I won't have anyone override my authority in my home."

Arthur nodded and left along with his family.

Slowly, all guests left. Only Alice and Neville were left. He had stopped them from leaving. Lily had taken Harry and said she was going to her parents ' home for few days.

James was sitting down on chair with head in his hands.

Alice squeezed his shoulder and said," I am sorry, James."

"You don't have to apologize for anything. My patience with Molly Weasley was already wearing thin," replied James.

Then he saw that Neville was crying and apologizing. He picked up Neville, made him sit on his lap and said," Do not cry. It is not your fault. How about you tell me all about Sirius Black again."

He saw that his mother had brought tea. She poured tea for everyone.

Then they listened to Neville tell about Sirius Black again while drinking tea.

James was inwardly cursing himself. James knew that he had selfishly stopped Alice and Neville, just because he wanted to hear everything about Sirius Black.

He knew where this was heading. He was developing an obsession. Yes, he wanted to find out everything about Sirius Black.

He thought he saw a rat scurrying away from garden, but did not bother and continued to listen to Neville.

 _Oh Godric, why am I so curious about the person I hate most in the world? Why? Wait, this is not his friend, Sirius Black? Why does he hate him?_

In his mind James justified himself that he wanted to learn more about enemy. When boy named Sirius Black became his enemy, he didn't know.

-_-_-_-_-_#-_-_-_-_-

 **Sirius Black POV**

To say that he was angry would be trivialization of the emotion. He was furious. He had acted as if he was fine in front of his parents. However, he was bloody furious at that werewolf who believed Peter but had the audacity to cry for him. It had not gone unnoticed to Sirius that Remus' eyes reflected regret, loneliness and pain whereas he had seen pure hatred in eyes of James two years ago. Remus' face had more scars and lines. His hair was grayer. Sirius was furious that James had not done anything to ease the suffering of Moony. Come on, they became animagi, not for fun but for that bloody werewolf.

His magic has stabilized with age. At six years old, he was able to apparate. Well, not like anybody knew about this. He had read almost all the books in Black library, both in Grimmauld Place and Black Manor. Currently, he was going through Malfoy's library to read books as well as to find the Voldemort's diary so even if Lucius gets the brilliant idea of opening Chamber of Secrets and unleashing basilisk, he won't be able to act on it. Narcissa loved having him at Malfoy Manor unlike Draco who usually left the house on sight of Sirius. Even Lucius was extremely kind to him. Well, that was because his father was the richest wizard in the world. Regulus was like a seer when it came to business and had doubled the Black wealth in six years. Now everybody was sucking up to him, his parents and grandparents.

He went down to his potions lab. This used to belong to Walburgha as she was a Potions Master. His parents did not bother him until they heard some blast or if he did not come out every hour to show them that he was fine. He was currently brewing Amortentia and Polyjuice Potion. He set up another cauldron and started looking for ingredients for Wolfsbane potion. He will set that bloody werewolf straight.

He had already decided to become animagus again. He knew the process, so this time it will take less time. From the books he had read, he needed to be atleast eleven years old for complete stabilization of core to attempt advance magic like Animagus training. He thought that was probably the reason that children started Hogwarts when they were eleven. So, for now, werewolf can just do with Wolfsbane. He remembered that Remus always liked his chicken stew, especially after full moon. But that would kind of make it obvious that it was Sirius' doing, so he should avoid that.

 _But maybe I can ask Twinky to make it for myself. That stew used to be delicious._

"Twinky , said Sirius.

"Yes, Master Sirius," replied Twinky.

Twinky was not only the house-elf but also his accomplice in many pranks.

"I am going to give you recipe. Can you make chicken stew that way exactly? "asked Sirius.

"Master Sirius doesn't like my recipe,"said Twinky and started crying and banging.

 _Oh great. Having a doting house-elf could be annoying as hell, too._

On hearing the banging, his father entered the potions lab.

He observed his surrounding and said," Do I want to know why my son is making love potion and Polyjuice Potion?"

He saw that his father was smiling.

"Well, Monday is last day of Moody in Ministry so I thought I could help make it memorable. I do not want him to end up alone so the love potion, "said Sirius solemnly.

His father started laughing.

Alastor Moody was a friend he made himself. Unlike others, Alastor Moody was not quick to pass his judgment in regards to Sirius Black and Chosen One. The way Moody watched the Chosen One assured Sirius that Alastor didn't mind underdog winning but some actions of Pettigrew had perturbed him. And it wouldn't be bad to have 'constant vigilance ' on one's side. This 'constant vigilance' was the way to Moody. How so? Yes, that was to prank Moody by getting past his 'constant vigilance '. Thus the pranks started.

Regulus Black was going to Ministry to attend Wizengamot sessions in place of Orion Black. Orion Black had decided to take a hunting trip with other pureblood cronies. They would be staying in Africa for few months. His grandfather had promised him that he would bring some awesome souvenir or pet. Well, he would not mind pet but he was not sure what would he do if his grandfather brought dragon hide or hippogriff's head as souvenir for him.

Anyway, that is how Regulus started going to Ministry. Since Sirius was bored, he decided to accompany his father. Well, few days after observing Moody, he decided to make his move. He stole wand from Auror Dawlish in Atrium and proceeded towards Auror Department after performing disillusionment charm on himself; not that it would do any good against Moody due to his magical eye. However, his first step was to get his attention. He entered Auror Department and saw Moody was standing at his office door insulting some new recruits. He had brought Devil's Snare pots with him in small bag with undetectable extension charm. He was standing at door and carefully placing these pots under desks where it was dark and plants could thrive. Moody, however, didn't know that even pots had disillusionment charm on them and only he could see them. After he has placed a few, he knew he had caught Moody's eye and Moody wasn't doing anything to stop him. Maybe he thought he could check 'constant vigilance ' mode of these Aurors, he had trained. After placing, Sirius smirked at Moody, who was now looking at him. Sirius, then turned his back towards department to avoid Moody's eyes and non-verbally cast 'Engorgio all' charm on the pots. Suddenly, Auror department overran with Devil's Snare. Sirius was now observing the Aurors. Some were efficient in dealing with it while most of them were screaming and struggling making it worse. Well, he could not blame them since they could not see it. He saw, Moody doing nothing to help the Aurors. Sirius laughed at seeing Auror Dawlish hanging upside down courtesy of Devil's Snare. Then he remembered he had the wand of this Auror, which he threw it in middle of chaos when Moody's both eyes were looking at some distressed Auror. Just then, his father came behind him. He noticed his disillusionment charm had worn off. He saw that his father's eyes were wide at the scene before him but he could see mirth in them.

"Sweet Salazar, what is going on in here?" grinned Regulus.

At hearing Regulus' voice, Moody walked towards them.

"Who is this boy?" Moody asked Regulus

"My son, Sirius Black," said Regulus still grinning.

Sirius thought he saw small smile on Moody's face but he could be imagining it since there were so many scars on Moody's face. He could not recall if he had ever seen Moody smile.

"Looks like his uncle and behaves like his uncle, too," snorted Moody.

Regulus' grin only became wider at that comment.

"Stop grinning like an idiot Black and get out of here. Make sure your son stays away from me," said Moody.

And well, like Sirius was never the one to follow orders, no matter who gave them. He didn't stay away from Moody. Eventually Moody and his father became something like frenemies, as Regulus was usually the only one who knew the counter-solutions to Sirius' various adventures. Moody made it clear that he thought Blacks were dangerous. He often commented on Blacks being darkest wizards he had ever come across but there was never malice in his voice.

Now, back to present, Sirius was seeing his house-elf making noise and his father looking at his potions.

" Twinky, what's the matter with you?" asked Regulus finally looking at the elf.

Twinky replied, "Master Sirius doesn't like chicken stew that Twinky makes. He is giving Twinky new recipe."

"Twinky, it's just recipe I found in Uncle Sirius' book and I wanted to try it," said Sirius.

Sirius knew that as soon as he mentioned Uncle Sirius, his father and house-elf will do anything. His father had been delighted when Sirius chose his Uncle's room, when Sirius used his uncle's books, when his uncle's wand had chosen him, etc. Similarly like Kreacher loved Regulus, Twinky loved Sirius. Sirius remembered crying three nights on Astronomy tower, calling Twinky's name, when news of Twinky's demise reached him in his past life.

 _Oh Merlin! I am turning into a Slytherin._

He saw how eyes of both people in front of him lit up.

"It's my Master Sirius' recipe," said Twinky in excited voice.

"Yes, I will give it to you later," said Sirius putting some ingredients in his Cauldron. Twinky, then disappeared with a crack.

"I can't wait to eat that chicken stew. Sirius made it for me when he saved me from cave," said Regulus.

Sirius looked up from his Cauldron and saw his father lost in some memory.

"What cave?" asked Sirius.

"Oh, it's nothing for you to worry about. Anyway, why this Amortentia looks a little different, "said Regulus changing the subject.

" Well, it's modified version," said Sirius.

"Modified version? Sirius, you know I don't mind you playing pranks but modified potions can be lethal," said Regulus in a serious tone.

"Don't worry. It has been tested," said Sirius

"Who did you test it on?" asked Regulus urgently.

"Your mother, actually," said Sirius still working on his potion.

Regulus sputtered, "You checked the potion on your grandmother. "

"Well, yes. She is the one who helped me modify it in the first place," said Sirius.

"My mother is helping you in pranks. Should we take her to St. Mungos?" replied Regulus in a serious tone.

Sirius could see that his father was completely serious.

"Well, she only helped me when I told her I would be using it to make Moody's life miserable. Apparently, Moody insulted her last time," said Sirius grinning.

There was grin on Regulus' face, too.

"I goaded her to test the potion on herself that if she is as great as she says it is, it should work fine. That did the trick. Even though after that I had to stun her and tie her to her bed for six hours since she was leaving for Africa to search for grandfather," continued Sirius.

Regulus laughed and said," You are turning into Slytherin and here I thought you would be Gryffindor like my brother. So what does this potion do? You do know Moody never drinks from anywhere but his flask."

"This potion makes you want to kiss the person you love. Until, that kiss you will remain extremely restless. The kiss breaks the potions' effect. However, if you cannot find the person you want to kiss, the effects will wear off after six hours," said Sirius.

"And how will it make Moody's day memorable?" asked Regulus.

"Have you not seen the way he sometimes looks at Amelia Bones," grinned Sirius.

"Oh Salazar, and these crates of muggle drinks will be used in this prank of yours. But then again Moody doesn't drink from anywhere but his flask," said Regulus looking at crates behind Sirius.

"Yes that's why this will only be distraction. Moody will be getting higher dose than others after Twinky replaces his flask," grinned Sirius again producing exact replica of Moody's flask.

His father laughed again and left.

Sirius saw that he had all ingredients for Wolfsbane but he did not know where the werewolf lived. Therefore, Sirius decided to forge ministry letter, telling Remus that there were problems with his Apparition license and he should be at ministry at eleven on Monday. There he will make him fill some forms and voila, he will have his address.

 **Regulus Black POV**

 **Monday, Ministry of Magic**

Regulus knew that Sirius had left early that morning after drinking Polyjuice Potion. He never divulged to Marlene about Sirius' pranks as both Blacks were constantly reprimanded by Marlene and Walburgha. Well, this time his mother was involved so she did not say anything when Regulus left. However, Marlene has given him enough dressing-down to compensate for Walburgha's silence.

When Regulus reached ministry, he saw that there was small posh stall at edge of Atrium offering free drinks. The wizard offering drinks was telling customers how they were introducing a new drink to compete butterbeer. The wizard had blond curls and piercing green eyes. He was almost as tall as Regulus, wearing very expensive formal robes. The wizard looked so respectable and proper that he could put many pureblood families to shame. He had a friendly and trustworthy air around him. As far as Regulus could see, there was hardly anyone not taking the free drink.

But Regulus knew better when he approached the stall and his eyes met the blond wizard, he could clearly see merriment in them.

"Mr. Black, it's a pleasure to come across you here. Please drink this and enjoy," said the blond wizard.

"No, thank you," said Regulus.

Lucius joined Regulus at the stall and took the drink. After general pleasantries, Lucius clapped on Regulus' back and said," See you in court."

"How much time?" asked Regulus.

"One hour and the magic begins," the blond wizard smiled pleasantly.

Regulus saw that smile on blond wizard's face dropped and followed his line of sight.

Mr. and Mrs. Chosen One were walking towards the stall.

Regulus sighed and said," We have mastered the art of ignoring those we don't like. We are Blacks, remember that."

Then he slightly moved away from stall, not wanting to leave his son alone. He saw Rabastan and called him over to make small chat so that he does not look suspicious.

"Don't you know that stalls are not allowed in Ministry? Do you have permission for this?" asked Mrs. Chosen One angrily.

"Yes, Mrs. Pettigrew, here is the permission letter signed by minister himself. Please check," said the blond wizard looking directly into Mrs. Chosen One's eyes. Then blond wizard smirked flirtatiously at the woman.

Regulus saw that Chosen One had already accepted the drink without any qualms unlike his wife whose cheeks were now red.

"Oh…. Ok then…..can I have ,….," spluttered Mrs. Chosen One.

"Madam, here is your drink. I hope we can meet again if you like it. You know to discuss business proposition," said the blond wizard, smile plastered on his face.

"Yes, sure. We can. Lets go, Peter we don't want to be late," said Mrs. Chosen One.

Chosen One was looking at his wife strangely, as her whole face was pink now.

Chosen One looked at blond wizard angrily and left.

Blond wizard smirked.

Just then, James Potter came with Arthur Weasley. Weasley dragged Potter to the stall and blond wizard just gave them drinks without saying or explaining anything. Potter looked at the blond wizard with raised eyebrows as if asking him to explain. However, blond wizard was saved from explaining anything as Diggory came along and explained everything.

Regulus then saw Dumbledore, Mcgonagall and Snape entering the ministry. Dumbledore dragged the other two to the stall and literally forced them to drink.

Almost everybody in the ministry had the pleasure of enjoying new free drink.

Regulus was now sitting in court listening to some boring law about how to deal with decrease in population of flobberworms. He did not even know that there were people who kept track of population of flobberworms in the first place. After hearing the boring speech about flobberworms for nearly an hour he saw Lucius shout that they needed a break and for once whole court agreed with Lucius' decision.

Regulus was internally smirking at the looks of panic on people's face. He made his way to Atrium to see the stall owner. The stall was no longer there but there was a smirking Apparition Officer, he had met when he got his license, leaning against pillar and watching people run.

 _What are you doing now, Sirius?_

Regulus was about to talk to the Apparition Officer but was startled when some witch he had never seen placed her hands on his face. She was about to kiss him; he pushed her and backed away.

"What do you think you are doing?" asked Regulus angrily.

"What am I doing," said the witch. Regulus then stunned the witch and levitated her to the bench.

Regulus saw that Apparition Officer was laughing at him. He glared at him but interrupted by another witch. He had placed Full Body Bind on twenty witches by now.

"Should I tell mom that half of female population in ministry is in love with my father?" said the Apparition Officer.

"Tell me, they will forget what they were doing?" said Regulus.

"Yes, they will. Well except for Moody and Mr. and Mrs. Chosen One," smirked Apparition Officer.

"And do I need to know why are you looking like this?" asked Regulus.

Before Apparition Officer could reply, Snape had grabbed shoulders of Regulus.

Regulus was shocked. Apparition Officer had cast a shield between Regulus and Snape.

 _Didn't Snape loved Lily? Why did he come to me?_

"I didn't know that Snivellus was in love with you, "said Apparition Officer in an amused tone.

Regulus looked at Apparition Officer and was about to ask from where he had learnt that nickname when he heard Snape growl like madman.

"What the hell, Snape?" asked Regulus.

"Regulus, please stun me like those witches behind you," said Snape.

"Why would I do that, War Hero?" asked Regulus.

"I know you hate me but please this time help me. I was foolish enough to drink half the drink and then realize that there was Amortentia in it," said Snape.

Regulus could see that Snape was really panicked. Maybe he was afraid that James Potter would kill him if he kissed his wife.

"Don't you have friends? Ask the Chosen One, he can help you," said Regulus flatly.

Meanwhile, Regulus saw James Potter and Arthur Weasley run towards Floo.

"Everybody has left. Albus left saying something about long distance apparition. Minerva is roaming somewhere in Ministry," said Snape.

Regulus said," Then you should leave, too."

"I can't….Stun me…. I can't kiss Augusta Longbottom," said Snape.

"Augusta, you mean Aunt Augusta," said Regulus in a surprised voice. He saw that even Apparition Officer was flabbergasted.

Full Body Bind did hit Snape but it was cast by Moody.

Moody growled angrily," Was he trying to kiss you? Where is your son?"

"Well, he wasn't trying to kiss me rather than asking me to prevent him from kissing someone. Answer to your other question is that my son is at home," said Regulus.

"Really, this huge chaos, people running away from offices, and you are telling me your son has nothing to do with it," said Moody.

Moody would have continued but a witch interrupted them and looked at Regulus. Regulus backed away.

The witch said," Oh, I have no desire to kiss you. I was wondering where your son is?"

At this, all three men looked at the witch with eyes wide as saucers.

"You do know that he is only six years old," said Moody.

"Love is ageless. I was waiting until he is of age but for some reason I want to kiss him," said the witch.

This time the Apparition Officer stunned the woman. Regulus had to hide his smile by biting his cheek at the expression on Apparition Officer's face.

Moody turned his attention to Apparition Officer and asked," Mathew, what are you doing here?"

Mathew replied," Same as you, Mr. Moody. I saw people running here and there. When I came here Mr. Black was being attacked by ministry witches, so I decided to stay and help him."

Moody looked at pile of witches at the back and commented," You Blacks are nuisance in every sense."

"I will take that as a compliment," said Regulus.

Just then, another big surprise came for them. The stern Professor Minerva Mcgonagall walked over to Moody and before Moody could react, she kissed him.

Regulus saw that Mathew was as bewildered as he himself was. He saw that Mathew had soon recovered and was looking behind Moody at someone triumphantly.

 _Twinky has succeeded in the switching the flask._

Moody was still holding Minerva as Minerva recovered.

"What happened?" asked Minerva in a panicked voice.

"Nothing you were about to.. to faint so I helped you," said Moody in a somber voice.

Mcgonagall accepted his explanation and left.

Then three of them saw Amelia Bones leave quietly towards the floo. Regulus saw Moody close his eyes and take a swig from his flask. He saw Mathew smile and putting some spell on Moody. He was sure it was tracking spell.

Moody sighed and left.

"So I assume we will be eavesdropping on Moody and Amelia," said Regulus.

"Of course," said Mathew and took his leave.

"Where are you going?" asked Regulus.

"I have some work to do. I will meet you in an hour in the court," smiled Mathew and walked away.

Regulus checked time, it was almost eleven. He decided to go home and check if Twinky was ok.

As he was leaving, he saw Remus Lupin enter Ministry looking haggard.

 **SIRIUS BLACK POV**

Sirius was now sitting at Mathew's desk waiting for Remus to show up. Meanwhile, Mathew was stunned and safely stored in the closet behind his desk. Sirius liked Mathew's chair, which revolved.

He was busy revolving when Remus entered and looked at him strangely.

Sirius at once stopped revolving and properly sat at his desk.

"Do you need something, lad?" asked Sirius.

"Well, I received letter that there was some problem with my license," said Remus in an irritated tone.

"Oh yes, there have been problems with few licenses. Kindly fill this form and you can be on your way," said Sirius giving a form that he had designed himself.

"This form is about my diet preferences," said Remus.

"What? Oh sorry, that's the wrong form," said Sirius. Sirius was inwardly cursing himself that he had brought the wrong form. He had used the diet preference form in another prank on the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

"Well, lad, looks like we are out of forms. Why don't you leave your name and full address and I will fill your form," said Sirius.

Remus looked at him suspiciously.

"What is going on? Why were there stunned witches and wizards in the Atrium?" asked Remus.

"I have no idea, lad. I try to avoid trouble but people started acting strangely after drinking the free beverage from a stall in the Atrium," said Mathew handing quill and parchment to Remus.

Sirius saw Remus grin at his explanation.

"Lad, don't tell me you have something to do with it with the way you are grinning," said Sirius , eyeing him suspiciously.

"Oh no, I don't. I just think it must have been funny," said Remus.

Remus then wrote his name and address, shook hands with Sirius and left.

 **Moody's POV**

One hour after leaving Regulus and Mathew, Alastor was starting to feel the effects of potion. He had at once checked his flask.

"Damn you. I will kill that little devil," shouted Moody.

First time he had seen the 'little devil', it was like seeing ghost; ghost of most notorious dark wizard after Voldemort. He soon learned that ghost was apparently son of Regulus Black. Sirius Black was chaos personified. 'The constant vigilance ' that he had failed to instill in the new Aurors, had vastly improved ever since they had been on receiving end of countless pranks of Sirius Black. The Aurors, however, never found the culprit but Moody knew who it was. It seemed like ghost had inherited not only his uncle's look but also his uncle's talent.

After drinking from his flask, Alastor knew where he needed to go.

Alastor apparated near a graveyard. He could see that Regulus and well, Mathew, who he was sure by now was not Mathew, were following him; but he did not care.

He entered the graveyard and stopped when he saw woman crying over a grave.

This grave belong to Alphard Black and Amelia Bones was crying over it.

He used his magical eye and saw that Regulus and Mathew were surprised at this.

"Alastor, why are you here?" asked Amelia.

"For the same reason, you are," said Moody.

Moody saw that Regulus and Mathew were now close and listening to their conversation.

"Sorry Alastor, I cannot return your feelings. The part of me that could love someone died with Alphard. Both Alphard and I couldn't leave our families in the end," said Amelia.

Amelia moved to look at Moody and continued," It's funny that the only person I can talk to about my lover is the person who wants to be my lover. I am sure Alphard will be waiting for me whenever I leave this world. That's why I am happy to live with his memories."

"I understand, Amelia," Moody said in a sad voice.

Moody saw that Mathew was coming towards them. Regulus tried to stop him but failed. Mathew looked extremely angry.

"You have got be kidding me. Miss Amelia Bones, you never loved Alphard Black because you don't know a thing about Alphard Black," said Mathew angrily.

Moody saw that Regulus has now joined Mathew.

"Mathew, Mr. Black, what are you doing here?" asked Amelia.

"Well, this is grave of my uncle, so maybe I should be asking you what you are doing here," said Regulus.

Moody saw the expression on faces of three people present there. Mathew, whoever he was, was angry. Regulus had a blank face and Amelia was sad.

"That's enough. We are leaving now," said Moody in a loud voice.

"No, we are not leaving. Alphard Black was not some hopeless romantic from those stupid novels. He loved life and wanted people who were living to really enjoy life. If you don't want to move forward, don't blame it on Alphard Black. And looking at you, I assure you Alphard Black never loved you," shouted Mathew angrily.

There was a sound of slap. It was loud. Amelia had slapped Mathew. Moody saw Regulus become furious in matter of seconds. Regulus took out his wand and pointed it at Amelia. Moody instantly cast a shield and Regulus' spell bounced off.

"Stop it, Regulus," said Moody. But Regulus didn't listen to him. Then Mathew asked Regulus to calm down, Regulus was still furious but he lowered his wand. Regulus then checked Mathew's face to see if he was hurt.

Mathew smiled and said," I am fine."

Moody was now convinced that Mathew was indeed Sirius Black so he wasn't really intrigued by the scene qunfolding before his eyes. Regulus lovingly looking at Mathew and checking if he was fine. But one look at Amelia told him that well, she misunderstood the whole situation.

"I am sorry," said Amelia in a small voice.

" I am sorry, too. But I can't understand how Alphard Black could love a woman who refused to enjoy the gift of life, woman who refused to take another chance, woman who stopped being happy; because Alphard Black was always happy," said Mathew.

"I actually agree with gentleman here. Uncle Alphard would want you to move on. He would want you to be happy, not spend your life as a boring spinster. If you love Uncle Alphard, give Mr. Moody a chance," said Regulus.

Mathew turned towards Moody and said," And you are a coward. You love this woman yet you let her wallow in sorrow."

" I…I..," stammered Moody.

Mathew smiled or rather smirked," Just kiss her already."

And then he did just that. He kissed Amelia. At first Amelia didn't respond but after few moments, she did.

Mathew and Regulus were about to leave when Amelia stopped them.

"Mr. Black, Mathew, Thanks for everything. Don't worry your secret is safe with me," said Amelia smiling at them.

"What secret?" asked Mathew.

"I know you are lovers," said Amelia and apparated away.

Moody saw the horrified looks on both Blacks and laughed.

Sound of his laughter brought them back.

"This is not something to laugh about. You will clear this misunderstanding, wont you?" said Regulus urgently.

"I will think about it," said Moody laughing.

"Think about it, really?" said Mathew smirking.

Moody knew smirking Sirius Black was never a good thing and besides, that smirk looked very creepy on Mathew's face.

"Fine, I will tell her. By the way, how did you know about Alphard Black so much?" asked Moody.

"Oh that, I read the correspondence between Uncle Sirius and Uncle Alphard," said Mathew.

"When will this potion wear off?" asked Regulus.

"In half an hour," replied Mathew.

"Lets go home, then," said Regulus.

"Ok. Mr. Moody, Mathew is locked in the cupboard behind his desk and here is his wand," said Sirius and walked away with father.

Moody looked at the Blacks and smiled.

 _They really are a nuisance._

 _...-_-(_)/_(;#);/ (( ##:')/)####())/__

After few days, a very confused Mathew received flowers and chocolate from Amelia Bones with a card saying 'Thank You'. Moreover, a very confused Mathew was telling equally confused werewolf that there was nothing wrong with his license.

It took Moody one year to clear the misunderstanding because he enjoyed the reaction of Regulus whenever Amelia gave him patronizing looks. Moody and Amelia were now living together at Moody's Lake house and Moody couldn't be happier.

James Potter had finally reconciled with his wife on the day he drank free drink. When he saw Daily Prophet next day telling about strange dizzy spells and memory loss of ministry workers, he knew he had been pranked courtesy of Sirius Black.

Severus Snape had woken up in Ministry. He was the only one who knew that it had something to do with Amortentia as he could feel the aftertaste. He was just happy that he didn't remember anything.

Remus found the Apparition Officer very suspicious. When next day he went to Diagon Alley and read about strange day at Ministry, he assumed that Officer must have been under effects of some potion. He went to Ministry again to talk about his Apparition license only to find that there was never anything wrong with it in the first place.

Albus Dumbledore has apparated to Austria and was lying stunned at the gate of Nurmengard Castle after trying to break in. This caused a small international scandal, until Rita Skeeter caught wind of it. Albus asked Severus and Minerva as to what happened. Minerva was clueless and Snape, who he was sure knew something, didn't comment.

Peter had suffered for six hours outside Malfoy Manor. Despite his every attempt, he was unable to get past the wards there. After the effects of potion worn off, he had felt humiliated. He recalled tales of one Sirius Black being told by Neville; which reminded him of James' expression when listening to the boy's exploits. Then he had made up his mind, Sirius Black needs to be dealt with.

Mrs. Chosen One spent the six hours looking for the blond wizard who was serving drinks. After recovering, she had launched official investigation.

 **SIRIUS BLACK POV**

After the events in ministry, Sirius was no longer allowed to go to Ministry. His mother was furious as Ministry launched an official investigation. His father had been called for questioning, too. Therefore, in order to appease his mother, he was on his best behavior; well, atleast in front of her. His mother was so angry that his father had been banished from Grimmauld Place to Black Manor. It had been two days since he saw his father. He was missing his father. This had been the longest he had gone without seeing Regulus. He had been so anxious that delivering Wolfsbane potion to Remus was no longer his priority.

He decided to go to living room where his mother and grandmother were having tea. He had decided that he will even beg to see his father. As soon as he entered living room, his eyes fell on his father. His father looked a little disheveled and depressed which was completely out of character for him.

"Dad," said Sirius and ran towards his father.

His father at once got up on hearing his voice and picked him up. The depression settled on him before, vanished.

" What are you going to do when he goes to Hogwarts? You couldn't spend two days without him," said Walburgha Black.

"We will cross that bridge when we have to. That was worst possible punishment you handed out, Marls," said Regulus sadly.

"I am sorry. Forgive me both of you, " said Marlene getting up and hugging them both.

Three held to each other tightly.

"And I thought Marlene was tough, " said Walburgha clucking with disapproval.

Sirius looked at her grandmother and said,"Why nobody punished grandma?"

"What do you mean? And don't talk about your grandmother like this," said Marlene.

Sirius and Regulus snorted. Walburgha had the decency to look sheepish so they let it go.

With his father back, he was thinking of how to deliver the Wolfsbane potion to Remus. His mother was keeping her eyes on him like a hawk. He needed some distraction in order to deliver the potion. He was wondering what would happen if he made Twinky drink Polyjuice Potion with his hair in it.

Just then, like some higher power had decided to help him, came Aunt Dorcas. She was trying to convince Marlene to come with her to some new cake shop. Marlene tried to protest at first but after Regulus asked her to bring some chocolate cake for him and Sirius on her way back, she agreed.

His father retreated to his study and his grandmother was in her bedroom. He took the Wolfsbane potion and apparated near Remus' cottage. He cast disillusionment charm on himself. After reaching cottage, he cast Homenum Revelio to find empty cottage.

Sirius then entered the cottage and examined his surroundings. The cottage was clean but everything was old and tattered. He proceeded to kitchen where he placed two goblets of Wolfsbane potion on kitchen table with a note. He decided to check the cupboards and small pantry for groceries finding them empty. He inwardly cursed his friends again.

Sirius then casted different glamor charms on himself to make him unidentifiable and apparated to Diagon Alley to buy groceries. After procuring the necessary items, he went back to cottage. He thanked the God that it was empty. Then he filled the cupboards and pantry, leaving another note.

He apparated outside Grimmauld Place and was about to enter when he saw his father looking at him.

"Son, when did you learn to apparate and more importantly, when were you going to tell me?" asked Regulus.

He thought his father would be angry but when he looked at his father, he saw a smile.

"Did you think I would be angry at you? I am not angry at all but I can't say I am not hurt that you didn't tell me," said Regulus.

"Sorry Dad. I thought you will be angry, " said Sirius solemnly.

"Have you ever seen me angry at you?" asked Regulus.

"No," was Sirius' short reply.

"Come to my study. We need to talk, " said Regulus.

Sirius quietly followed him.

"Sirius, no one can find out that you can apparate. No one. Do you understand? " said Regulus.

" Yes, I do," said Sirius.

"If people find out they will make unnecessary assumptions about you. You need to learn Occlumency and Legilimency," said Regulus.

"Oh you don't need to worry about that. I already learnt it last summer. Grandfather helped me," said Sirius.

Regulus laughed.

"You know at age of six,formal Black training starts. Every Black has to learn mind arts, basic potions and spells. They even make children learn penmanship, piano, violin and even dance," said Regulus.

Sirius whined," I don't want to learn to dance or play piano."

"Well, since you have little left to learn in regards to magic, etiquette lessons are the only thing left," said Regulus.

Sirius made a disgruntled face.

Regulus pulled him and hugged him.

" You know you could have splinched yourself while apparating. I don't want to lose you. So don't do anything that will take you away from me. Just tell me whatever is on your mind," said Regulus in a silent voice.

Sirius looked up at his father. His eyes were wet. Sirius hugged back his father tightly.

"Sorry dad," said Sirius.

Walburgha entered study and saw the scene before her.

"You are spoiling him," said Walburgha disapprovingly but then joined the hug.

To their astonishment, a single sob escaped Walburgha. Sirius looked up and saw Walburgha crying.

"Sirius. My Sirius is never coming back. I won't see him ever again,"said Walburgha between sobs.

Then it was like some dam broke. Sirius saw Walburgha cry for the first time on loss of her first born son. He saw Regulus' tears silently escaping his eyes.

Walburgha kept crying for more than half an hour until Marlene and Dorcas came back despite multiple attempts by his father. This was the first time Sirius has seen the woman named Walburgha Black, crying and wailing. Marlene gave her Calming Draught and Dreamless Sleeping Potion and then she settled down.

-_-_-_-_-_-#_-_-_-

 **Remus Lupin POV**

Remus came back to his cottage from work. He was hungry so he decided to head to kitchen. Today, he got his hands on expired cup noodles. He felt so hungry that he was sure he would eat all six cups of noodles in one go. Full moon was day after tomorrow . When he entered kitchen he saw two smoking goblets at the center of table. He picked up the note beside them and read it.

 _ **Hey Bloody Werewolf**_

 _ **Drink this potion. It will make your transformation painless and you will be able to keep your mind in wolf form. Even if you are suspicious just drink it. What's the worse that can happen?**_

 _ **PS: I am trusting you that you won't tell anyone about this potion even when you aren't trustworthy at all. Burn this note after reading.**_

Remus was looking at the potion suspiciously when his eyes fell on another note stuck on pantry door. He walked over and read it.

 _ **Don't think of this as charity because I will make sure you pay for every galleon, sickle and knut.**_

Remus opened the pantry to find it full of food. Remus didn't know whether he should thank or curse the stranger. Tears silently rolled down his eyes.

 _I hate being poor._

Then without thinking he drank the potion in both goblets.

 _What's the worse that can happen?_

Then he made himself steak with steamed vegetables. After eating to his fill, he prayed for potion to be poison and slept.

During full moon, he was flabbergasted. The potion had the exact effect that was in the note. This was the best transformation he ever had. He burned both notes from stranger. He had made up his mind that whoever his well-wisher was, he didn't care ; this time he won't betray someone who really cares about him.


	5. Chapter 5

The Other World

SUMMARY:

Sirius Black son of Orion Black falls through The Veil and is reborn as Sirius Black son of Regulus Black in the other world. And well, wherever Sirius goes, Sirius is Sirius.

Author's Note: Italics are thoughts of people when story is from their POV. English is not my native language.

I apologize for my pathetic English again.

And it wasn't my intention to creep anyone out ; but just show how different people reacted on seeing the reincarnation of Sirius Black.

I would like to thank the reviewer SiriuslyPink for pointing out my English mistakes. I will try in future to improve the already uploaded chapters as well as the new ones.

And I would like to dedicate this chapter to **"nadasnape"** , one who always encourages me.

Thanks **nadasnape.** Hope you like this chapter.

-….-….-…..-….-…-….

Chapter 4

 **After two years**

 _Meaning Sirius is eight years old now._

TOM RIDDLE POV

Tom Riddle was roaming in his spirit form in the Albanian forest. He was extremely furious at his followers. None of them had bothered to find their Master.

 _I am the greatest wizard in the world. What could be more important than me?_

Tom decided that he will punish his followers severely after he regains his power. He had tried multiple times to reach the wizarding society nearby so he can possess some wizard. It took him six years to recover from the state Sirius Black had left him in.

 _Six years of my life wasted. I will kill Sirius Black. And so much for the prophecy, I didn't even step foot in the village where the supposed Chosen One was living. I will kill that bitch Trelawney, too. And Severus, just wait what I will do with you. You will wish you were never born. Sending me, the epitome of power, on a wild goose chase._

First he had tried to possess the animals in the forest. Wild boar, he came across while roaming, was his first choice; but he walked into some muggle hunting contraption accidentally, just after one hour and that was the end of his time as a wild boar. After that, he vowed again to get rid of the muggles for making such a device. Soon, he found that due to his exemplary and magnificent magical powers, no animal could contain him for more than five or six hours. They exploded, literally exploded. He had possessed brown bear, wolf, red fox, deer and even a squirrel, but to no avail. His misadventures with the animals continued for one year after which all the animals in the forest avoided him like the plague.

Then, he moved on to the muggles. The muggle hunter who strayed from his group and didn't listen to the warnings given to him by his barking dogs, became his first victim. It took just few hours for him to discover that the muggles were even less useful than the animals; firstly they fought the possession and secondly due to the conflict in brain, they lasted even less than three hours. This was brought to light when he exploded in some muggle transportation device, that people were calling cheap or beep or jeep, in front of friends of the muggle hunter he was possessing. After that hunters stopped coming to the forest. The few muggles who came were as useless as the muggle hunter like the professor who came to observe the abnormal animal behavior, the teenage kid who ventured into the forest on a dare, the local priest who came to vanquish the evil and the list goes on. Uselessness of the muggles made him vow again to get rid of these vermin.

By trial and error, Tom realized that possessing someone directly won't work. He needed a wizard who could do blood ritual of revival, which will help him maintain some sort of solid body. That solid body could be merged with other human for some time. This way, nobody will explode due to his greatness.

His notoriety as the evil spirit eventually attracted the attention of wizarding community of Albania. And then came a British wizard by the name of Quirinus Quirrell, who unlike his useless followers, was actually searching for him. He observed this Quirrell fellow for a few days and found that this idiot had some grand notion of defeating the Voldemort. His spirit form laughed at the foolishness of this wizard. He could see that this wizard was seeking grandeur and fame. He knew this was the type he could work with.

Tom started talking to Quirrell without revealing his spirit form to avoid the scenario if Quirrell decided to show reckless bravery and did some minor damage to his recovering body or spirit. He could see people underestimated Quirrell because despite being timid, here he was searching for the greatest wizard ever born. Yes, Quirrell was brave; at least braver than that pathetic Pettigrew. He hoped Sirius Black had not killed the rat as he would personally like to torture him. Another thing people couldn't see was the vast knowledge of Dark Arts, this Ravenclaw possessed. Icing on the cake was the fact that Quirrell was a professor in Hogwarts even if he taught something nonsense like Muggle Studies.

Gradually, he was able to lure Quirrell into the trap and warp his mind. And after few weeks of careful cajoling, he had a new follower. He, internally laughed at Dumbledore who had failed to properly utilize this competent wizard. Yes, Quirrell's magic was not very powerful but his mind was brilliant. He realized that Dumbledore still had a one track mind, and despite all his brilliance he ignored or rather discarded the people who were not part of his big play, whatever that was. Tom gave Quirrell what he wanted. He gave him his approval, he gave him the praise, which Tom didn't want to admit, but Quirrell deserved.

 _Sorry Professor, as usual your arrogance will once again make me paragon of power._

Next day, they were going to perform the blood ritual. Quirrell was assembling the ingredients. They needed flesh and blood of a human. Quirrell offered his own but he needed Quirrell so he asked him to kidnap some hapless Albanian wizard, possibly a pureblood. Then, as full moon rose, the ritual started. Quirrell was able to follow the instructions perfectly and by sunrise, ta-da, Voldemort had a body. This body was weak, barely the size of a toddler, but at least now he was capable of using a wand which he recovered from the tree trunk where he hid it.

 _I shouldn't use muggle phrases like ta-da. Nobody can find out that I lived in a Muggle orphanage._

He was now making plans to return to the Great Britain with Quirrell. As per information provided by Quirrell, that fateful night the Chosen One had defeated him and his right-hand man. He was seething that people considered someone like Pettigrew, his right-hand man.

"So what is the Chosen One doing, right now?" asked Tom.

"He is working as an undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. He is on his way to become the next Minister of Magic," replied Quirrell.

Tom was astonished. Sirius Black never seemed like the type who would want to be Minister.

So he voiced his thoughts, "He never seemed like someone who would want to become Minister."

"Maybe, it's the influence of Dolores Umbridge, his wife," said Quirrell.

Tom was now more confused. He had met Umbridge once in the Hogs Head Inn. Sirius Black and Umbridge married, he just couldn't imagine that.

 _After all, Sirius Black might be most handsome wizard; after me, of course._

"Umbridge is that toad like woman who worked at the Magical Creature Department, right?" asked Tom.

Quirrell snickered," Yes, that's the one."

"I wonder if she used some love potion, " said Tom recalling his mother's idiotic and humiliating actions that made his blood impure.

Quirrell looked at him oddly and said "Why would anyone use a love potion on someone like Pettigrew? "

"Pettigrew?" asked Tom with warning bells ringing in his head.

"Yes, Peter Pettigrew, the Chosen One, "said Quirrell,poking stick in the camp fire.

Tom's anger exploded. It created a crater about forty meter in diameter. Quirrell was thrown backwards but he could feel that Quirrell was alive. His eyes were flashing red with anger.

 _That imbecile was able to defeat me even if it was largely by coincidence but couldn't get rid of one useless dirty rat._

He was panting.

 _So this is what I have been reduced to, some wishy-washy wizard who someone like Pettigrew can defeat. I need to go back and remind people who Voldemort is._

Then, he healed Quirrell and expressed his desire to return as soon as possible. He knew that it would take him years to regain his former power. He needed instant remedy, then it struck him. He needed the philosopher's stone.

-_#-#-#-(/+)(?.,!'""+)(#;-#)(-_;-#()

 **Peter Pettigrew POV**

Peter had been floating on the clouds ever since he was declared the Chosen One. He was more popular than his friends now. People always asked him for his autographs and photographs. He received special attention wherever he went.

At first, he thought that Dumbledore was joking or somehow manipulating him. One thing that Sirius Black and he shared, unlike James and Remus, was not fully trusting Dumbledore. And that was one of the memory he had clearly shown Dumbledore where Sirius declared that he didn't understand what game Dumbledore was playing, when he asked Potters to move to Godric Hollow rather than stay in the Potter Manor. So he had spied on Dumbledore about this whole Chosen One nonsense. Well, it was nonsense because he knew he wasn't the Chosen One but who cares. Like everyone, Dumbledore had underestimated him thinking he couldn't use Occlumency. Well, he had learnt from one of the best, Sirius Black. But still as a precaution he had removed the memory of few hours of that night and his correspondence with the Dark Lord from his brain. So Dumbledore could search his mind all he want, he won't get caught. Well, spying on Dumbledore as a rat had been quite easy, one other thing he needed to thank Sirius Black for along with James. Anyway, the conversation between the Headmaster and his former Head of House had finally convinced him that Dumbledore really believed him to be the Chosen One from the prophecy. He didn't know the prophecy, but he didn't care because Voldemort was gone, and the state he had been in, when Sirius Black took care of him, it would take him years to regain power.

The day, he supposedly became the Chosen One, was now celebrated every year as Peter's day. On that day, every year he went to Hogwarts and gave speech to the students which was written by his secretary. Students, after feast, formed lines to get his autograph or get their picture taken with him. He loved the attention.

It's not like everything had been a smooth ride. He had faced the opposition of Blacks. He even had to slander Dorcas. Nevertheless, the support of Dumbledore and Ministry had prevented his fall. Even his friends had believed him and that was what he considered a true miracle. James Potter believing him instead of Sirius Black, that was to him, a crowning accomplishment. He knew Remus had remained skeptical but one can do so much as a werewolf.

Still, there were moments when he was forced to take the reality checks. Like after becoming the Chosen One, he came across Narcissa Malfoy in the Diagon Alley. He had always liked her so he decided to use his mantle of being the Chosen One to flirt with her. Narcissa had given him one look as if he was an insect and left. Thus, the first reality check. Second reality check had shook him to the core when he looked into the silver eyes of baby Black. Third was seeing son of Regulus Black at Ministry. Fourth was when James laughed like Prongs when he heard Neville telling about the pranks pulled by Black's son. Fifth reality check was when he tried to compete Regulus in a few business deals and was utterly defeated. This was his petty attempt to deal with Sirius Black, to inflict some sort of punishment for that prank. Then some of his followers advised him that there would be plenty of time for revenge when the kid gets into Hogwarts. Sixth Reality check came when he was beaten to pulp, despite being the Chosen One, by the husband of a witch, he was having one night stand with. That night instead of going home, he went to James' house and told him he was beaten by Black and his friends. He even shuddered voluntarily and mentioned that the Black's son had also kicked him. James, ever the Gryffindor, decided to exact revenge at once but Peter stopped him, asking him not to stoop to their level. Lily had also agreed with him.

After that James had reverted to being ideal of Percy and that was where he wanted him. Because if the mind of Marauder started working again, instead of Blacks, James will kill him without even thinking of the consequences. James thought that nobody could see but it was evident to Peter that James still loved Sirius and no one could ever take his place. So he needed James to be the next Bartemius Crouch, no matter how boring that was.

In order to strengthen the friendship, he had decided to throw a big party in his mansion to celebrate the promotion of James, who was now next in line to be the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. He went to the Diagon Alley to buy some expensive gift for James and his son, Albus had been badgering him to get him a wand.

He entered the Ollivander's shop with his son. Garrick Ollivander was sitting behind the counter. He happily greeted Ollivander.

Ollivander smiled and said, "I remember when you came to buy your wand, Mr. Pettigrew. 10 inches, yew with dragon heartstring."

Peter had always found the guy frightening as if he could see what others couldn't.

He replied, " Yes. And it is still serving me well. Today, I am here to buy a wand for my son."

Ollivander looked at him oddly but said,"Mr. Black, kindly bring the boxes 7, 8 and 4 on the last shelve from the right. "

"Mr. Black, " snorted Peter.

"Have they become so desperate that they had to resort to being shopkeeper 's assistant," continued Peter.

Ollivander smiled again and said," Not exactly shopkeeper, Mr. Pettigrew. Mr. Black has taken apprenticeship with me to learn the wandlore."

He found the Ollivander's smile unsettling. Then he saw, Regulus Black's son coming from the back of the shop with three boxes. Every time, he saw him, more and more he looked like Sirius. He knew Blacks were still the richest wizards in the world. So why was Black's son working as shopkeeper's errand boy was beyond him.

His son snorted mockingly at the Black's son.

Black ignored him and his son like they didn't exist at all and went to the back of shop again.

"Apprenticeship, really Mr. Ollivander? Aren't they offered after the wizard graduates from Hogwarts? " asked Peter.

"Unfortunately, most of the new generation are not interested in the art of wandlore. It requires certain skill set. However, few who are interested, lack that. Wandlore is complex and mysterious, even the most skillful do not fully comprehend it," replied Ollivander.

"That kid has the skill set you are looking for?" asked Peter.

Ollivander didn't reply but only smiled.

"Oh come on, Papa. We are here to buy my wand not talk about boring things like how to be shopkeepers," whined Albus.

"Yes, young Pettigrew. Try this one. 13 inch, Maplewood with unicorn hair," said Ollivander.

Albus picked it up but nothing happened.

"Never mind. Try this one. 9 and a quarter inches, chestnut wood with dragon heartstring, " said Ollivander.

Albus picked up the wand and this time few sparks flew from it.

"Looks like young Pettigrew has found his wand. You are certainly like your father, " said Ollivander.

Peter didn't know, whether he should be happy about it or not. He didn't know, whether it was a compliment or not. But he decided to think of it as a compliment.

"How much, Mr. Ollivander? " asked Peter happily.

"7 galleons, Mr. Pettigrew, " said Ollivander.

Peter handed money to Ollivander and said," Be careful. Blacks are dark wizards."

Ollivander smiled again instead of replying. Peter left the shop thinking of that creepy smile.

Then Peter bought an expensive formal robes for James. As he was exiting the Madam Malkin's Robes, he ran into Remus. Remus was looking younger and healthier than before. His robes were old but he, himself, looked fresh and quite handsome. Both looked at each other, clueless as to whether they should greet each other or not. That problem was, however, solved by Albus when he screamed and called Remus, a dark creature. He expected Remus' face reflect hurt and grief, but instead Remus just rolled his eyes and walked away. He heard some woman call Remus, he turned around and saw Remus greeting Mrs. Potter.

Today was turning out to be full of mysteries for him. Why was the Black's son working as a shopkeeper's assistant? Why was Remus in such a good condition? He decided to discuss it with James at party tonight. He also decided to give anonymous tip to Auror Department that Ollivander might be under Imperius curse.

Peter had invited everyone who worked at Ministry and well, believed him to be the Chosen One. His wife has been ecstatic explaining how this will increase their prestige in the wizarding society. His wife expressed it so many times that he decided to avoid her until the party.

The guests started pouring in. Peter was exchanging pleasantries with everyone. James had joined him and now they were talking to a group of Aurors

"I think Ollivander might be under the Imperius curse, " said Peter sipping champagne.

"What makes you think that?" asked Dawlish.

"I went to his shop today. My son wanted to buy a wand. Don't worry he won't be breaking underage magic law. Anyway, Black's son who is same age as my son, was working as his errand boy. I think the Blacks could be planning on stealing wands or something, " explained Peter.

"Stealing wands. Really, Pettigrew? " snorted Kingsley.

" Peter, why would they try to steal wands when they could easily buy the whole store? " said James.

Peter was feeling extremely embarrassed.

" Ollivander was behaving strangely," said Peter in a firm tone.

"Isn't Ollivander always like that?" said Gideon.

"He tried to explain the wandlore to me," said Peter.

Gideon laughed and clapped his back saying ,"Fine, now I really have to check him."

This made James and Kingsley laugh. Peter looked at them angrily.

"But still, someone should check as to why Black is working in the shop," said James.

Gideon, Kingsley and Dawlish nodded and left to get more drinks.

"James, have you heard from Remus? "asked Peter.

James replied in a strained voice," No, I haven't met him. It's been a few years."

He could see guilt in James' eyes.

"I saw him today at Diagon Alley, " said Peter.

James looked at him and asked, "How is he?"

"Oh, he is fine. I think he has come across some fortune. He looked healthy, "said Peter.

"That's good to hear, " said James.

He could hear relief in James' voice.

"Let's visit him tonight after dinner," said Peter. Peter wanted to know the reason behind the Remus' well-being.

"I don't mind but how will Remus react?. By the way won't Dolores be against it? I mean she has pretty strong beliefs about few things, " asked James.

"Despite what it looks like to you, I don't always follow my wife. And Remus should not mind," said Peter.

"You really think Remus won't mind. We… we abandoned him," said James in a miserable tone.

"We had to do this for our family. I am sure he will understand, " said Peter.

"I am ashamed, Peter. I don't think I can face him," said James.

" Do you want to go or not?" asked Peter.

"Fine. Let's not mention this to our wives," said James smiling.

After party, they apparated outside Remus' cottage. He could see that James was feeling nervous. He knocked on the door. Instead of Remus, the door was opened by Euphemia Potter.

"What are you doing here?" asked James.

Mrs. Potter frowned and said," Shouldn't I be asking you this?"

"Dinner is ready, Aunt Euphemia. Who is it?" they heard Remus ' voice.

"James and Peter," replied Euphemia Potter.

"Tell them, I am busy right now. Besides they should stay away from dark creatures," said Remus.

James' face was like someone has slapped him.

" You two heard him. Now go away. We are already having late dinner, " said Euphemia Potter and closed the door.

"Well, this explains everything," said Peter.

"What?" asked James.

"Why Remus was looking healthy. Your mother is a Healer, she must have been taking care of him," said Peter.

"She never told me," said James.

"Maybe she didn't want to endanger you and your family, "said Peter lamely.

James just rolled his eyes and disapparated.

For Peter that was one mystery solved but he couldn't negate the feeling that he was missing something. Remus only looked this fresh when he spent full moon with his friends. Maybe, Mrs. Potter was also an illegal animagus. He could imagine Mrs. Potter being a dragon. Because just having healer can't bring such a drastic change.

After few days, James and Peter were eating lunch in cafeteria when Kingsley joined them.

"Did you check Ollivander? "asked Peter.

"Yes, thanks Peter for sending me on wild goose chase, " said Kingsley, a bit disgruntled.

"What happened? " asked James.

"I had the pleasure of meeting Moody there. He gave me a long lecture about wasting time on pointless things. He thought I was shirking work and that got me the 'cane treatment'," said Kingsley looking angrily at Peter.

James laughed.

"Who cares about Moody. What about the Black? " asked Peter

"Everybody trained by Moody cares about him, " said Kingsley hotly.

Peter was confused.

"Calm down, Kingsley. Unlike us, Peter has never been an Auror " said James.

Kingsley replied, "Well about the Black, the kid accidentally burned half the wands in Ollivander's shop."

Peter said suspiciously, "Accidentally? "

Kingsley continued, " Yes, that's what Ollivander said. Anyway, Regulus Black offered to pay double for the wands that were destroyed. But instead Ollivander asked that his son help him make the wands that were destroyed. At first, Black was reluctant but Ollivander told him that his son might be one of few people who could grasp the wandlore. I mentioned to Ollivander about you calling him shopkeeper's assistant. Ollivander said that he told you that the kid was an apprentice which if I recall correctly, you failed to mention. "

"Isn't Black's son only a year younger than Harry? How could he grasp something complicated like the wandlore? " asked James.

Peter was unable to understand the conversation.

"Moody thinks that Ollivander has finally lost his marbles," said Kingsley.

"But still Ollivander's wand are the best, " said James.

Kingsley snorted, " It's just some sort of punishment for the kid, I am sure."

Peter just considered this another mystery solved because thinking about it was giving him headache. He went to his office and sent owl to his two loyal followers to meet him in Hogs Head Inn. Being the Chosen One and being under the tutelage of Dark Lord, had given him insight to always have few pawns ready, here and there. He acted friendly and threw some money, now Fenrir Greyback and Scabior were his right-hand men. It also helped that both of them really thought that he had defeated the Dark Lord. They met secretly and had code names, never revealing their identity in the public. Peter assigned them the code names; Fenrir was Moony, Scabior was Doe and he was Hound. Scabior had, at first, protested but after Peter skillfully explained how it would protect him, he had given up.

 **After two years**

 _Sirius is now ten years old._

 _peter's POV is continuing_

Today he was again meeting his associates. At night, he wore a long cloak and mask that covered his face and apparated to Hogsmeade. He saw his two accomplices waiting outside the pub, smoking weed.

"Moony, Doe, how have you been?" asked Peter.

"Fine, boss," said Scabior.

He couldn't see their expression as they, too were wearing masks. In Hogs Head Inn, they sat at the corner where they could get some privacy.

"So what's up, Hound? " asked Fenrir.

" You remember, I told you about that annoying kid," said Peter.

"Oh yes, the Black heir," said Scabior.

"You idiot. Don't take his name," said Peter angrily and looked around. They were safe for now.

Scabior apologized and they drank few rounds of firewhisky. Now there were other people in the vicinity.

Peter whispered quietly and said," Stick to the codenames."

Fenrir and Scabior nodded.

"We told you not to be impatient about the Grim. We will take care of him when he enters Hogwarts, " said Fenrir.

"He is too protected right now, " said Scabior.

"We tailed him last time when you were worried about something ridiculous like the wandlore," said Fenrir.

"The ex-Auror is really annoying, " said Scabior.

"Why are you so worried about him? It's not like he is the Chosen One," said Fenrir.

Peter could hear amusement in his voice.

Peter said in a serious tone, "I can feel that kid would be trouble."

"So what did he do this time?" asked Scabior downing another glass of Firewhisky.

"He was working at the Borgin and Burkes, " said Peter.

Peter could see that their shoulders became stiff.

"Why would he be working there?" asked Scabior. Peter could note a little panic in his voice.

" l asked my Auror friends to investigate. The Borgin and Burkes outright refused that there was some kid working in their shop, " said Peter.

"It's only a year now. You have waited long enough. By the way, that kid would be going to Hogwarts at the same time as your kid," said Scabior.

Fenrir laughed and said," Maybe you can teach your kid a few tricks to deal with the Grim. "

"That's actually not a bad idea, " said Peter with a sinister smile on his face.

"Anyway, at Hogwarts there will be no parents, no grandparents, no Ex-Auror, just us and him and the Chosen One. He will be dead before you know it," said Scabior.

They all clicked their glasses and drank.

Peter got up," I have to go now. My wife must be waiting for me."

"Is she good in bed?" Scabior asked shamelessly.

Peter replied, "One of the best, I have ever had."

Then he threw a pouch of galleons at the table and said, "Why don't you two go and have some fun, too?"

They all laughed and left the Inn.

-_-_-_-_-#_();";'#"'#;(

 **Multiple POVs**

 **Potter Mansion**

James Potter was looking at night sky with a glass of firewhisky in his hands from the balcony of his bedroom. He was looking intently at the Canis Major 's brightest star. Lily joined him but he didn't notice.

"Harry will be going to Hogwarts in a few months, "said Lily.

James was a bit startled at hearing Lily's voice but recovered quickly and replied, "It would be lonely without him."

Lily replied with 'hmmm' and put her head on his shoulder. James smiled and pulled her into a hug. Hug lead to snogging but they were interrupted by Dumbledore 's patronus asking James to meet him urgently at the Hogwarts.

They both looked at each other with confused expression. James groaned at being interrupted but started to get ready to meet the Headmaster.

 **PETTIGREW MANSION**

Peter had just removed Dolores' robes when Dumbledore 's patronus asked him to come to Hogwarts immediately.

Dolores and Peter, both were extremely displeased at being interfered during their pleasurable activities. Peter cursed the Headmaster and started getting dressed.

 **Hogwarts**

 **Headmaster's Office**

Albus Dumbledore was worried. Hagrid heard a very peculiar conversation last night in Hogs Head Inn. Even though Hagrid made it clear that he didn't hear the whole conversation since he was drunk; which also made his memory very hazy and well, useless. From the snippets that he could recall, Hagrid was sure that kid or kids related to the Chosen One and some Ex-Auror were in danger.

The only kids who satisfied these conditions were Harry Potter and Albus Pettigrew. Thus Dumbledore had called their fathers to discuss this predicament.

Now, he was sitting with Minerva, Filius and Severus. Minerva looked worried, Filius, however, had a blank face and Severus was sitting with a scowl on his face. Severus has changed or rather returned to his usual sneering, cynical self around two years ago. It was like he was competing with Argus on being the most hated member of the staff in Hogwarts.

Fire place turned green and James entered the office.

"What happened?" ask James

"Nothing has happened, yet. Let's wait for Peter, " said Dumbledore.

James sat down on the empty chair. Snape was sneering at him. James first ignored him but then decided to ask," Snive…Snape.. Is there something on my face?"

Snape eyes flashed anger but then he sneered," Yes, there is lipstick on your face."

James saw that now everybody was looking at his face. He, urgently, tried to wipe his face but was distracted as Peter stepped out of fire.

Peter said in a crisp tone, "This better be important, Headmaster because I was kind of busy."

Snape laughed. Everybody looked towards him.

Snape said, "We are here worrying that there kids might be in danger while they are angry they couldn't get the shag, they wanted. One has lipstick smeared on his face while the other looks like Acromantula bit him on the neck."

Ok, Snape had changed a lot, both James and Peter thought.

"That's enough, Snape, " said Dumbledore.

"What does he mean our kids are in danger?" asked James.

Dumbledore relayed the whole story to them.

Peter was thanking Merlin and all other wizards that these people didn't know it was him. He was glad that Hagrid was kind of thick.

"Harry is starting Hogwarts this year, Dumbledore. And you said that Harry was no longer in danger," said James in a panicked voice.

"I know what I said and I am thinking of some solution, " said Dumbledore.

"Why not ask Aurors? If there are rogue Death Eaters hunting our kids, shouldn't they be involved? " said James angrily.

"I cannot have the Aurors run around Hogwarts. It will disrupt the routine of students and instill unnecessary fear, " said Dumbledore.

"I don't care what you think. My son is in danger," said James furiously.

Peter couldn't tell James that there were no Death Eaters and their children were in no danger. It was actually him planning the demise of another kid named Sirius Black. Having Aurors could become troublesome to his plans.

"I agree with Headmaster, James. I want my kid to have a normal childhood. I want him to enjoy Hogwarts like us not in constant state of worry that someone might kill him," said Peter.

Peter saw that Dumbledore looked at him appreciatively. Peter smiled at the Headmaster.

James ran his hand through his hair, took a deep breath and said, "Fine, no Aurors. But I want extra protection for my son."

Dumbledore nodded.

Minerva suggested ," You were thinking of hiring Burbage as professor for Muggle Studies. Why not hire someone who could be handy in combat and protect the kids?"

Snape scoffed, "Yeah, it would be good to have someone who knows the right end of wand unlike your esteemed Chosen One, here."

Peter replied acidly, "Snape, you are forgetting who kept you out of Azkaban and who got you that Order of Merlin. "

Snape rolled his eyes and sneered, "You can have that useless Order of Merlin back."

"Can we get back to the real issue at hand? Are you two done?" said James in a loud voice.

Filius Flitwick was observing the wizards before him. He decided to share his suggestion," Hire Remus Lupin to teach Muggle Studies. He is half-blood. I met him at Leaky Cauldron and he was looking for a job."

Flitwick saw that his suggestion met with mixed response. Severus and Peter, who were at each other's throat a minute ago, now sported similar expression of disdain. James beamed at him. Minerva and Albus looked thoughtful.

"That's an excellent suggestion. Remus can effectively deal with Death Eater wannabes, "said James happily.

"But he is a dark creature. Will our children be safe with werewolf as a teacher, "said Peter darkly.

Minerva looked at him disapprovingly and said," That certainly wasn't a problem for you when you were friends with one. I think Filius is right. We should hire Remus Lupin. "

Before Peter could protest, Filius added," A new potion has been developed for werewolves which makes their transformation painless and allows them to keep their mind in wolf form. Severus told me about it, last week when he returned from the international potions conference. "

"Well, that is good and all, but if I recall correctly, Remus is horrible at Potions and this new potion must be complex," said Peter.

"We have a qualified Potions Master among our staff who is highly capable of making the complex potions, "said Dumbledore.

"But will he make it for Remus? "asked Peter.

Severus seeing that the Chosen One didn't want Remus on staff, gave a sinister smile to Peter and said," Yes, I will make it. Let's hire the werewolf. "

James was unable to understand the constant opposition by Peter and blurted out," Are you afraid that your wife won't like it?"

Snape laughed again.

Peter looked at James angrily who was now looking a bit sheepish.

"Fine. Do whatever you want, " said Peter like a petulant child and made his exit via Floo.

James was looking at his back for a minute or two when Snape's laugh brought him back.

"What is wrong with you? " asked James .

"Never had any backbone, that one," Snape said but before he could continue James had raised his wand at him.

Now, both James and Snape had their wands pointing at each other, glaring at each other.

"Stop it," ordered Minerva.

James saw that Snape yawned and excused himself after telling Dumbledore not to waste his time on such trivial matters again. He didn't care what happened to scions of Potter and Pettigrew family.

"What is wrong with him?" asked James.

"He has changed, "was the only reply he got.

"Anyway, I trust Moony, I mean Remus Lupin. I am sure he will keep my son safe," said James and left.

"Filius, contact Remus tomorrow, " said Albus Dumbledore.

Filius Flitwick nodded and left.

-_-#-#((/+)(#_;:;-#(/+/(#_ ;-()/+

 **SIRIUS BLACK POV**

As far as Sirius could remember, he had always been a curious child. This curiosity in his past life resulted in being 'Crucio'ed or hexed by his mother and sometimes even by his Uncle Cygnus. Even, Kreacher had taken pleasure in serving him poisoned or hexed food. People in his past life never really understood his suffering but were quick to judge him. They never understood that many of those walls were marred by his blood during his childhood. They never understood that he could hear his screams from when he was a child in most of the rooms. They considered him a hypocrite for treating Kreacher with disdain without even knowing, how much he had suffered at the hands of that elf in his past life. He was kind towards house-elves, in general, but he couldn't be like that with Kreacher. People called him reckless, a loose canon yet they failed to see the circumstances that made him react like that. How could anyone not go after traitor who took away his entire world from them? How could they expect him to behave like a reasonable human when everything was so unreasonable? What if Harry had died at Ministry while he was sitting safely in that house where he never wanted to be? How could he have said that he loved Harry more than anyone in the past life, when he wouldn't even go and defend him just because he was concerned about his own safety? People never understood and yet, they judged him. People who shuddered in the presence of one Dementor can never fully grasp being surrounded by countless Dementors for twelve years. They didn't understand the constant needles that poked his entire body. They didn't understand how people can change in Azkaban. They were quick to judge but there was nobody to help him, really help him. Dumbledore, Molly Weasley, Snape, everybody was quick to criticize since it made them feel good; but truth was, he was alone. The biggest irony is that even someone like Bellatrix got a trial, yet he was thrown there just because he was a Black. He could see how people never suspected Pettigrew because he had made the same mistake. But nobody saw that He and James started suspecting Remus because he changed after running with packs. Nobody saw that Dumbledore was the one who made them doubt Remus in the first place by making Remus hide his 'assignment' from them.

Still, nobody bothered to look, how many years he had struggled against the beliefs of Voldemort? Nobody bothered to look that he had been fighting since his childhood. Nobody cared about him except James and Lily Potter. Uncle Alphard and Mr. And Mrs. Potter were already gone. Yes, that was what he was in his past life, truly alone and he had wanted to die. The War and Azkaban took away all his dreams. He never wanted to be an Auror but was forced to be one because of war. Then, he was wrongly imprisoned for twelve years. So, he never had any chance to pursue his dreams. When he got out of prison, it was always about Harry. People called him selfish but he never once thought about himself. He didn't ask Dumbledore why being Chief Warlock, he couldn't even get him a trial for a whole year, he was on the run. People around him moved forward but there he was, with twelve years of nothingness.

People did remind him that he was bully at school and no, he wasn't proud of some of the things he had done. Even his godson had been very critical about that. But did he thought that Snape was always innocent? Snape had always had fascination for Dark Arts. Few of the spells that they have used on Snape, were the ones that Snape used on them before. Nobody joins Death Eaters just because of bullying. Oh, so Snape had a change of heart and Dumbledore vouched for him. What did they think Snape was doing when he was a Death Eater, certainly not spreading love in the world? Did they really think he was so innocent? Yet, here he was judged for bullying him but Snape was never judged for his time as Death Eater. His past mistakes will always be there while everybody else's stopped existing.

He knew Voldemort will be back but Regulus and Marlene had no intention of joining either side. Regulus had clearly stated to his grandparents that his only priority will be his family, no matter which side attacked them, and made sure they understood that. Lord and Lady Black agreed that there was no need to participate in a war where one side had killed their son while other side believed them to be Death Eaters. Even Dorcas who was practically family now, was of the same mind. She recalled that the very people who she had protected multiple times were the ones who cast her aside without even hearing her side. Sirius had asked his father what he would do if Voldemort insists that the Blacks join him. His father had given him a vague answer. But he couldn't help the feeling like his father had something that he was sure would give him upper hand if it comes to bargaining.

In his new life, he had a chance to sate his curiosity. He could do whatever he wanted, as long as it didn't put his life in danger. One such opportunity came to him when his prank in the Diagon Alley went wrong and burned half of the Ollivander's stock. In his past life, he was very interested in the wandlore. But there were hardly any books on the subject as each wandmaker protected their secrets with life. Only way to gain the proper knowledge was through the apprenticeship with the wandmaker. When his modified fireworks burned Ollivander 's wands, his father apologized to him and tried to pay for the damages done, even offering to pay twice the amount for the distress caused by his son. Ollivander, however, refused to take money and instead asked that Sirius help him make the wands he had accidentally burned. His father had been reluctant at first but after Sirius insisted that he wanted to learn the wandlore, his father gave up. He recalled the conversation his father had with Ollivander.

Regulus said," I heard that you rejected all the apprenticeship requests, even when few were willing to pay for it."

Ollivander replied, " Not everyone can learn it, Mr. Black. Only those who have certain skills can even learn the art."

Regulus replied, " And you think my son has these 'certain skills' even when he is only eight years old."

Ollivander replied, "Age has nothing to do with it, Mr. Black." Then, he gave them a creepy smile.

Regulus still placed the pouch of galleons on the table. As they were about to leave, Ollivander said," I will expect you tomorrow morning at seven, young Black."

He protested that seven was too early and well, Ollivander agreed at nine.

Since his father wasn't very happy with this arrangement, leaving his son alone in Diagon Alley for unknown number of weeks, Regulus told his mother that it was about time she utilized her potions skills in something other than brewing tea at tea parties. Thus, next day, Regulus had bought an Apothecary shop near Ollivander's and after some rearrangement, Walburgha was running ' The Potion Stop'. Walburgha Black took Sirius daily to and fro from the Ollivander's shop. Moody often visited him much to the chagrin of Ollivander. He got acquainted with many people, some who liked him and some who hated him like Chosen One's son, Andromeda, Nymphadora, etc. He didn't care much about Chosen One's son who had tried to mock him, thinking he will take care of him in Hogwarts. Andromeda believed that he was a future Death Eater. His apprenticeship lasted almost a year. Mr. Ollivander 's praised him a lot and even put the wands made by him on sale. On the last day, he gave him a book as a present. It was book regarding Runes which can be placed on the wands. He thanked Mr. Ollivander profusely.

The book was extremely interesting and now his whole immediate family had Runes on their wands. This book became another Black secret and Regulus, worried about his son, made everybody that was his wife, his mother and father take vow of secrecy.

Walburgha's business was a big success and was still booming. Walburgha even hired Horace Slughorn to prepare potions. Slughorn, like always, was happy as this venture expanded his social circle.

Few months after the end of his apprenticeship, he became interested in Goblins. He expressed his desire to learn Gobbledegook, the language of goblins as well as their skills as metalsmiths. His parents looked at him like he was crazy but finally Marlene agreed to talk to few goblins who were friendly, well friendly on the scale any usual goblin was to wizards. A young goblin by name of Urgok, who was recently employed at Gringotts agreed to teach the language but flatly refused when it came to their metalsmith skills as they were a highly guarded secret. Since, Sirius was banned to come with his mother to work, Urgok taught him the language in the office of The Potion Stop. During last days of his language lessons, he successfully coaxed Urgok to, at least, let him see the process once. Urgok agreed but warned him that it was a one time deal only. Regulus was not happy about his son going to the goblin mines alone. Marlene tried to convinced Urgok to let her or her husband accompany but Urgok refused. Regulus made an emergency portkey for him that would work against ninety percent wards. Twinky was asked to stay alert to rescue Sirius if Sirius calls for her. He kept trying to dissuade Sirius but to no avail. At last, he made Urgok vow that he will keep his son safe. How he made Urgok vow, nobody knows.

On the day of his trip to the underground mine, his father spent two hours placing different security spells and wards on him. They had then, apparated to Gringotts. Urgok and he took Portkey to the entrance of mine. Sirius was expecting some boring and barren mine but what he saw literally took his breath away. He was in a heavy wooded valley with series of short waterfalls surrounding a round lake. He was observing the natural beauty and saw Urgok smirking at his awestruck expression. Urgok led him to the secret entrance behind the waterfalls. Sirius was now realizing, how much loss his trip to Azkaban had really caused him.

As they entered the mine, there were huge halls with large black pillars and green archs, bigger than Great Hall of Hogwarts. Hundreds of goblins were going about their usual business but they all stopped when their eyes fell on him.

"What is this manling doing here?" asked one goblin with clear hatred in voice.

"He is here with the permission of Head Goblin to see the process of minting," said Urgok in a raised voice so everybody could hear him.

"Fine, but only one hour and then I want this wizard gone from the mine," said the person who seemed to be in charge of mine.

"Thanks, Sir Fundok, " said Urgok.

"Emm, er, Thanks, I guess," said Sirius in an unsure tone.

Fundok looked at him like Snape looked at the bottle of shampoo and ordered others to resume their work. Sirius excitedly spent the next hour moving from one hallway to another observing the different processes. Each hallway was like a different department. In first hallway mining was done, second hallway was responsible for extraction of metals, and so on. Goblins were highly organized. His excited nature apparently aggravated the goblins a lot and after he tried to share his snacks with the few goblins in hallway seven, they threw him out of there. At the end of tour, he decided to cheer goblins up by lighting around dozens of fireworks in the mine. The fireworks wrote 'Thank you' on the ceiling which Sirius saw was very very high. Few of the fireworks changed into dragon which roared ;well the roar made the goblins from few other halls panic a bit, but no harm was done. Few of the fireworks changed into pixies and chased few goblins around for few seconds before disappearing. Anyhow, his desire to remove the grumpiness of goblins made Fundok throw him out of the mine. Urgok was reprimanding him, when Fundok came out of mine and gave him a small box which contained silver chain with a coin as pendant. Sirius looked at him with the question 'why' clearly written in his eyes.

Fundok glared at him and said," You are first and last manling to step in this mine. So it is my duty as Head Miner to give you something to remind you to never come here again. "

Sirius smiled. His smile was so wide that he could feel his face muscles stretching.

Then he said brightly, " Thank you. Thanks a lot."

He moved his hand forward to shake hands with Fundok but he glowered at him and turned away asking Urgok to get rid of him.

When he returned to Gringotts, he saw that his father and mother were waiting for him the whole time. He ran to them and they hugged him like they have seen him not after few hours but after few months. He thanked Urgok a lot.

Urgok waved his hand dismissively and told him, " That coin on the chain is the from the first batch of coins ever minted in that mine. So it's invaluable, it's yours to keep for now."

Then Urgok turned to Regulus and Marlene and said," Your son is nothing but trouble. "

Regulus and Marlene smiled sheepishly at Urgok

He showed his father and mother, the chain and coin that goblins gave him.

Regulus stopped Urgok and asked," What kind of magic does this coin contain?"

Sirius looked at it again, trying to discern as to why his father was so quick to notice.

"That depends on the wizard who keeps it," said Urgok cryptically and went away.

He saw his father smile and asked him about the magic in coin. His father ignored him and went to the Head Goblin 's office. Sirius decided to wear the chain and asked his mother to help him which she did after checking it for curses and what-not for half an hour. Sirius smiled at the over-protective nature of his parents. When his father came back, he told him that the Blacks will organize a large feast for the goblins as they helped their son and to compensate for the trouble caused by Sirius. Sirius protested that he wasn't causing trouble but trying to cheer up the goblins but his father only patted his head. The feast was held in the Gringotts as many goblins refused to enter a Wizard's home. Even Fundok was there but when Sirius smiled at him, he only glared back.

After few weeks, Sirius was again bored. He had spent six months on his 'goblin adventure'. He recalled his father's ability to immediately detect the magic on the goblin coin. He, at once, decided that it's time he also learned that. He asked his father to teach him to which his father readily agreed . He spent next few months learning from his father and playing Quidditch. They monthly had Quidditch matches with Regulus and Sirius in one team while Marlene and Dorcas on another. Once or twice they were joined by Alice and Neville or Moody and Amelia.

The most boring part of his life right now was etiquette lessons that he was forced to take. Lord and Lady Black refused to hear any excuse. Well, since he had already taken them before, he tried to quickly show his tutors that he had mastered whatever they were trying to teach him. His father often laughed at his misery when he was doing the Quickstep or some waltz with the tutor. This often earned his father half-hearted glares from him.

On his tenth birthday, which was as usual a grand event , Dorcas surprised everyone by bringing her new boyfriend, Gilderoy Lockhart. He and his father spent the dinner suppressing their laughter and getting glares from Marlene and Dorcas. Ladies of every age, flocked to Lockhart like bees to honey to get his autograph, get their picture taken with him or to dance with him. Dorcas wasn't insecure because of the attention Lockhart was getting and Lockhart seemed to appreciate this. Lockhart, by the end of party had danced with every woman in the party except Walburgha and Marlene. Even Amelia danced with him which made Moody scowl. Lockhart gave him the signed copies of all his books and his portrait, in which he adorned blue robes and was flashing his teeth, with his autograph. Most females were envious of him on getting these special gifts from Lockhart. When Narcissa squealed like an excited school girl, he tried to give her the books and autographed photo, but one look from Dorcas told him that if he valued his life, he should value the gifts bestowed on him by her boyfriend. As enthralled as ladies were on seeing Lockhart, the gentlemen present had completely opposite expressions. Some were aloof, some were vexed. Only males laughing or expressing any sort of amusement were Sirius and Regulus. After that, he again had the privilege of meeting a fraud like Lockhart, quite a few times. Once, he had asked Dorcas as to why she was dating an idiot like him which earned him a smack on the back of head and a simple reply, 'he is the only one who doesn't care about anything. '

Dorcas was a beautiful woman but because of that ridiculous scandal she did not date for quite a few years. But when she started, she found most of them still believed the scandal but dated her because of her Gringotts account. Her restaurant now had two branches, one in Diagon Alley and one in Hogsmeade. She could have opened more but quality over quantity was her motto. Sirius saw how alone she was. Her family like Marlene had been killed by the Death Eaters and both met these Death Eaters at parties. He had noted that they only mingled with the ones who weren't Death Eaters. Marlene had Regulus and Sirius while Dorcas was only surviving by the friendship of Marlene and Regulus. Sirius decided to make her part of the family, there was a simple way. He asked his parents to name Dorcas, his godmother. At first Regulus outright refused but after Sirius explained his reasoning, his father reluctantly agreed. Though, he did spend few days getting drunk. Regulus and Marlene consulted Lord and Lady Black, they agreed that Dorcas was a good choice. When they asked Dorcas, she sat there stunned for ten minutes and then cried for over an hour. Sirius told her he was offended that she was crying when it was the greatest honor in the world to be the godmother of The Great Sirius Black. And for once, she didn't quip any smart comments but hugged him like her life depended on it. The peaceful and happy expression on Dorcas' face had appeased his father a little bit. Marlene, knowing her husband, got the document to list Sirius Black as his godfather and Dorcas Meadows as his godmother. Finally, his father let the issue slide.

After scouring through the libraries of many pureblood families, he came to the conclusion that teenage Voldemort's diary was not just some teenager pouring angst, or writing about some school crushes, but actually a horcrux. He had always known about them, this was the first time he had encountered one. He wondered if Voldemort had more than one horcrux as this one was made when he was a teenager. In his past life, Harry had destroyed the diary using Gryffindor sword that had absorbed the basilisk's poison. Since, basilisk were extinct and he wasn't very enthusiastic about releasing one on the students, for now his only choice was Fiendfyre. In his past life, he was quite efficient in casting it but he had not tried it in this life. He wanted to get rid of the diary because sometimes it became too enticing to ignore. He decided to cast the Fiendfyre in the middle of lake next to Moody's Lake house. So, next day after his father left, he apparated to Moody's lake house which was empty as the couple were now living in Amelia 's house as it was near Ministry. He removed the wards so Moody couldn't detect what was going on in his Lake house. There was a boat on the shore which he used to get in the middle of Lake. When he reached the middle, he placed the diary on the boat and casted Fiendfyre on it after which he quickly apparated to shore. There was a blast in the middle of lake. He was thrown backwards. He got up rubbing his head and saw small fountain of ink in the middle. He saw that the dead fish were now floating on the surface of lake, while atmosphere was thick with stench of Dark Arts.

 _Oh great! Moody will kill me now._

He needed to purify the lake as soon as possible. The instant remedies included Phoenix tears or asking unicorn to purify it. How does one ask unicorn to purify something, he didn't know. Well, sadly the unicorns weren't dark creatures, so many pureblood families weren't interested in them. For now, he warded the lake so that no dark aura leaks from it. Instead of going to Grimmauld Place, he went to the Black Manor. His grandfather was in his study.

Sirius knocked the door and greeted his grandfather. Lord Black looked pleasantly surprised.

"Granddad, I want a phoenix, " said Sirius.

Orion Black looked surprised but by now most of the people around him were used to his eccentricity.

Orion Black replied, " I will see what I can do about it. Perhaps, my connections in Africa would be useful."

This was another good thing about his new life. Usually, he never asked for anything but when he rarely did, his parents and grandparents always got him what he wanted without any questions. Meanwhile, he went to the lake few times to check the wards. He, once, met muggles on the opposite bank of lake who explained to him how something called the Global Warming was responsible for the dead fish.

It took Orion a month to finally get him a phoenix after some hefty bribery and illegal trading. As always when Orion acquired something, it was guaranteed to be of the best quality. It was the most beautiful bird that he had ever seen. Unlike, other Phoenixes, this one was not colorful but black and silver. Orion's contact in Africa had gloated that this was the last Phoenix of this kind, thus extremely valuable. Even his parents and grandparents were wonderstruck when they saw the bird. He learned that the Phoenixes were highly intelligent. After few days, he took Silver, his phoenix, to the lake. He didn't have to say anything as Silver knew what to do. After few minutes, lake was glistening with pure water and there was no trace of the dead fish. He was sitting on the edge of lake wondering what happened to dead fish, when Moody arrived. Moody, at once, became suspicious and started interrogating him.

"Mr. Moody, the muggles told me that lake had been poisoned because of something called Global Warming, so I decided to help them. Though, it was Silver who did all the work," said Sirius.

"Silver? " asked Moody.

As on cue, Silver flew to Sirius and sat on his shoulder. Moody was astonished when he saw his phoenix and asked lots of questions.

One night, he and his parents were dining at Dorcas' restaurant with Dorcas and of course, Lockhart, they were discussing dark artefacts. When the topic came to as to who was best at dealing with them, Lockhart and Regulus had different opinions. Well, Lockhart 's opinion didn't matter much to him, but his father's opinion decided for him, what he wanted to do next. In the morning, during breakfast, he told his parents that he wanted to work at Borgin and Burkes to learn how to deal with Dark artefacts. Regulus had told Lockhart that most knowledgeable people when it came to dark artefacts were the ones who efficiently stored and sold them like the Borgin and Burkes. Marlene was against it but Regulus thought it was a good idea and it might help him in the future. His only condition was that Silver accompany him, when he was working at the Borgin and Burkes. Mr. Borgin and Mr. Burkes were reluctant at first, but when Bellatrix discovered her nephew's interest in dark artefacts, she easily convinced them. The conversation went like this; though it wasn't much of a conversation, more like threatening them.

"Regulus and oh, my little nephew Sirius, what are you doing here?" asked Bellatrix when she entered the Borgin and Burkes. She instantly came to him, planting a kiss on his forehead.

Regulus smirked before turning to Bellatrix and Sirius, realized that his father was, indeed, a true Slytherin.

" Lovely to see you here, Bella. Well, you see my son is interested in the dark artefacts. He wanted to learn about them from Mr. Borgin and Mr. Burkes, but unfortunately they refused to help him," said Regulus.

"They refused? Burkes, let's talk in your store. And why don't you join us, Borgin? Regulus, you wait here, " said Bellatrix in an amused tone.

Just then Rodolphus Lestrange entered the store and loudly greeted the Blacks there.

There was a frown on Bellatrix's face which Sirius knew she was faking, " They aren't letting my nephew learn about dark artefacts, here."

"Really? And why is that Burkes?" asked Rodolphus.

The two shop owners were now pale. Anybody will be when the two most cruel Death Eaters were standing in from of them.

"We didn't want the young Mr. Black to get hurt, " said Burkes.

"He is a Black. He can deal with it, " said Bellatrix.

Before Borgin or Burkes could protest, Sirius moved towards Bellatrix and hugged her saying,"Thank you, Aunt Bella and Uncle Rodolphus."

That sealed the deal.

 _And I was calling my father a true Slytherin when I am exactly like him._

"If people in the Knockturn Alley give you any trouble, just let us know, "said Rodolphus meaningfully.

"Thanks Bella, thanks Rodolphus, " said Regulus and then invited them to have lunch with them.

After that Mr. Borgin and Mr. Burkes were extremely helpful and taught him all they knew about the Dark artefacts they had and how they contained them. Regulus, often, joined them and had lengthy discussions with Burkes which Burkes seemed to enjoy. Once, he had a run in with Pettigrew in the shop. What Chosen One wanted to buy at the Borgin and Burkes remained a mystery as he ran away when he saw Sirius. However, he did send a few Aurors there, after a week who left the shop disappointed after unsuccessfully trying to question Mr. Borgin and Mr. Burkes.

Sirius had maintained his routine of delivering Wolfsbane potion to Remus every month. He, often, found the notes or letters of gratitude by Remus but never replied to any or even took them with him. After few months, Remus forbade him to buy his groceries via note, clearly stating to let him maintain the little self-respect that is left in him. Sirius obliged. On his latest trip to cottage, he found a rather lengthy note from Remus.

 _ **Dear Stranger,**_

 _ **I don't know who you are and at the same time I don't have words to express my gratitude. You saved me. You helped me when nobody else was willing to. I was abandoned by my own friends but that was a punishment, I deserved. You helped a sinful man. I used to think that I was able to judge right and wrong, better than most people ; while I was busy passing such judgements, I forgot to look at myself. And when I looked at the mirror, I found a coward staring back at me. You helped a coward. But I promise here and now that I won't be a coward when it comes to repaying you. You could ask for anything and I will never let you down. I have already let down the most important person to me. I let down my best friend, Sirius Black. I don't know who you are but I want you to know that Sirius Black is innocent.**_

 _ **This might be the last correspondence between us since I will be moving to Hogwarts next month. I have been appointed to teach Muggle Studies.**_

 _ **Forever in your debt,**_

 _ **Remus Lupin**_

After reading the note, Sirius smiled. He was smiling yet tears fell from his eyes. Sirius never took any notes or letters left by Remus before, but he took this one.

-_-_-_-_-()/++/(_: /++)(#-_()/

 **James Potter PoV**

James Potter was beaming with pride. His son was going to Hogwarts. Today, they were going to the Diagon Alley to shop for the supplies, books and robes. Lily had already taught the basic spells and potions to Harry. Lily was a bit angry as before leaving the Manor, she read the reply from Severus. She had asked Severus to take care of Harry in Hogwarts. Severus had stated in his reply that he would, if her son was not like the usual dunderheads, he gets to deal with. James did not mention but he found the reply of Severus, quite, humorous. Because Harry, unlike his mother and grandparents, inherited his potions skills from his father or more like Remus, if that was possible. He and Remus were a disaster in Potions class. His saving grace was that he was partnered with Sirius, who was one of the best in potions. Remus had the misfortune of being Peter's partner and there was hardly any lesson when their Cauldron didn't melt or explode. Sirius thought that they were genius because how they strayed from the simple instructions to the exploding Cauldron without even trying, was a mystery to him. James, however, knew there was no mystery; If Sirius had not helped him, he wouldn't have been able to take N.E.W.T in the potions which he needed to become Auror.

They flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and greeted Tom. Gideon was also there sitting alone. James invited him to join them which he did. Gideon Prewett was one of the best Aurors in the department. After death of Fabian, he was truly devastated but Dorcas Meadows helped him and they fell in love. The way their eyes shone when they looked at each other, people could see that they truly loved each other. But everything changed when it became the public knowledge that Dorcas, behind his back, had been providing sexual favors to none other than Sirius Black. Gideon was, one again, left devastated and this time there was no Dorcas to help him. He became a playwizard, spending every night with new witch. Irony was that Molly referred to Dorcas as whore but if someone pointed out her brother's behavior, she just sadly said, "He is healing." The whore, Dorcas, as far as he knew, did not even date anybody for few years.

He still found Molly Weasley irritating but they have mended their relation since that night few years ago. They hardly spoke in each other's presence which suited James fine. His interaction with other Weasleys was very friendly. Twins had declared him their ideal that night, but it didn't last long when much to his dismay, he retreated back to being Percy's ideal. Arthur, and Peter were his best friends now.

Dumbledore had informed him that Remus had joined the staff as Professor of Muggle Studies so he was at peace that Harry would be safe now.

James and Harry went to Ollivander's wand shop while Lily and Gideon went to Flourish and Blotts. Like every wizard going to Hogwarts, Harry had been looking forward to his wand the most. Harry had tried to persuade him multiple times to get him wand early like Albus, while he didn't mind, Lily was against the idea.

Ollivander was as usual his mysterious self and was catering to other customers who weren't very happy with Ollivander's puzzling statements.

Mrs. Malfoy was getting wand for his son Draco who was starting school at the same time as Harry.

James whispered to Harry that he should stay away from Malfoys and Lestranges at school. He didn't need to tell him about Blacks because he changed his family motto to 'Never trust a Black'. After few minutes, Draco found the wand on which Ollivander commented," Curious that this wand selected you, Mr. Malfoy. You might be destined to play a role, a significant role in the plans of it's maker."

Before Draco could ask what Ollivander meant, Bellatrix entered with her son. James shoulders stiffened on seeing her. Apparently, her son, too was entering Hogwarts this year. Bellatrix ignored them like they didn't exist and asked Narcissa if she was done. Then the sisters left with their sons.

James was still looking at door when Ollivander said "Ah, Mr. Potter. It feels just like few years when you were buying your first wand here. It was eleven inch, Mahogany, pliable. Excellent for transfiguration. "

James smiled at Mr. Ollivander and introduced his son.

"I see many young ones from prominent families starting Hogwarts this year; but the real pandemonium will not begin until next year, " said Ollivander and went to the back shelves to pick some wands.

James was thinking that next year both Peter's and Regulus' son will be starting Hogwarts. Was Ollivander referring to them? What will begin next year? He was pulled away from his thoughts when Ollivander came back and started showing the wands to Harry. Finally, a wand selected him. James could see the joy on the face of his boy.

"11 inches, Mahogany with Unicorn hair. Looks like you have traits of both your mother and father unlike many of the Sacred 28, I catered today," said Ollivander and then smiled mysteriously.

James was about to ask what he meant when another customer walked in. James decided to ignore Ollivander's words as they hardly ever made any sense, paid for the wand and left.

They met Lily and Gideon outside the shop. Harry was happily waving his wand and all three adults were laughing at him. They sat down in Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Gideon asked what they wanted and went to get ice cream. When Gideon returned with a tray carrying ice creams, there was some commotion in the vicinity. They all looked towards it. Gilderoy Lockhart was carrying Dorcas Meadows bridal style and she was half-heartedly smacking him in the chest. Gideon dropped the tray and his expressions hardened.

He heard Dorcas say," Roy, put me down, else I will hex you."

"Only if you agree to go with me on the tour of Costa Brava, darling, " said Lockhart.

All of them knew about Lockhart and Dorcas dating, thanks to the Daily Prophet and the Witch Weekly, but seeing it, was what it made real.

" I can't. Who will take care of restaurants? " replied Dorcas.

"Oh come on. Ask Marlene or Regulus, " said Lockhart. Then he put her down and kissed her quite passionately pressing Dorcas closer and closer to him.

Dorcas, after few minutes broke the kiss and replied, " I don't want my restaurants blown up."

One could hear in her voice that she was out of breath. Lockhart, then pressed her closer and whispered something in Dorcas' ear after nibbling it. Dorcas laughed at him. While James was watching the scene, he completely forgot about Gideon. Then Gideon entered the scene he was watching and punched Lockhart. Lockhart and Dorcas were so surprised that they didn't respond for few seconds. Lockhart's nose was broken and it was a bloody mess. Dorcas, however, recovered her senses and glared at Gideon and well, then she acted like Dorcas and broke Gideon's nose. Gideon got up again to beat Lockhart but this times James had reached him and was trying to stop him.

"You bitch. How could you?" asked Gideon.

Dorcas, meanwhile, was healing Lockhart 's nose. James, also notice that this altercation has been recorded by quite a few photographers from different newspapers and magazines.

Dorcas shouted at Gideon, "How could I what, Mr. Prewett? Walk in Diagon Alley with my boyfriend? "

Just then James noticed Regulus emerging from the Knockturn Alley and thought 'how typical ' in his mind. Dorcas and Gideon were still shouting. Lockhart was looking at them, flabbergasted.

Gideon grabbed Dorcas' upper arm and pulled her towards him. Then he forcefully tried to kiss her. Dorcas stamped on his foot and slapped him. By this time, Regulus had reached the commotion and saw Dorcas slapping Prewett.

Regulus reached Dorcas and asked her, "What's going on here? Dorcas, Roy, are you two fine?"

Regulus was picking up Lockhart making him sit on the chair . Dorcas' and Regulus' eyes met and he enveloped Dorcas in a hug. Dorcas sobbed clutching Regulus' robes.

"Let's go home. Come on Dorcas, Roy. Let's go home," said Regulus. Dorcas and Lockhart nodded.

Gideon shouted at Dorcas again," Does Marlene know you are screwing her husband? Come to think of it, he does resemble his brother. "

Regulus glared at Gideon. James knew that glare. The glare that made even the bravest stumble upon their words. He had seen it multiple times. He saw Gideon flinch a little. Regulus took out his wand and threw a spell on Gideon. Gideon flew back and crashed on the stall selling frog spawn and liver of some kind.

Regulus' anger radiated from his body. James could feel his magic.

"Never mention my brother again from that filthy mouth of yours, " said Regulus quietly and firmly. James knew even if his voice wasn't loud, everybody had heard it.

Gideon got up brandishing his wand but a cane hit him in the hand and his wand dropped.

"What the.. "Gideon started but stopped after seeing Moody glaring at him.

"What are you doing, lad?" asked Moody.

Gideon didn't say anything.

Moody looked towards Regulus, but Regulus just replied, "We are leaving. "

Regulus, Dorcas and Lockhart apparated after walking away from crowd.

Moody was admonishing Gideon.

Lily came up to him, "That was certainly eventful. Molly might disagree with me but that was all Gideon's fault. "

James smiled at Lily.

Harry asked," Why was Uncle Gideon beating the wizard you like mom?"

Lily flushed and James looked at her, amused.

"Really son. I didn't know that your mom liked him," said James.

"Yes, mom stood for three hours with Aunt Molly to get his autograph," replied Harry.

"Lily, don't you remember him from Hogwarts? He was and still is an idiot, "said James.

"James, haven't you read his books? He has changed," said Lily.

"Nobody changes that much," snorted James.

They were sitting in Leaky Cauldron enjoying lunch when Gideon came back and apologized.

Lily gave him a long lecture and at end she said, "You shouldn't have accused her of that with the Black when it was clear that he was just comforting her as a brother."

"Lily, I already got a long lecture from Moody. How can you tell he was comforting her as brother? " said Gideon.

" I know, " said Lily. James saw that Lily had some distant emotion in her eyes.

As an apology, Gideon bought Harry an owl. The Potters thanked him on seeing the delight on their son's face. When they were walking back towards Leaky Cauldron, someone called out to Lily.

They turned around to see Horace Slughorn walking towards them. James and Gideon groaned while Lily beamed to see her favorite professor from Hogwarts.

"Professor Slughorn, how have you been? " asked Lily brightly.

"Lily, James, Gideon, good to see so many talented students together. And who might this young man be?" asked Slughorn good-naturedly. James and Gideon nodded towards the professor.

"It's our son, Harry Potter. He is starting Hogwarts this year," replied Lily.

"Young Harry must be a dab hands at Potions, like his mother," said Slughorn.

Harry didn't reply but smiled at Slughorn. James tried to hide his smile by biting his cheek. Gideon hid his laugh in a cough. Lily glowered at them.

"Lily, what are you doing these days? Why don't you join me and make potions? I am Head Potineer at the The Potion Stop. We have even opened one branch in Hogsmeade and one in Godric Hollow. There aren't many who could make exceptional potions, "said Slughorn.

"But isn't that shop owned by Blacks?" asked Lily.

Slughorn looked at her strangely and said, "Why does that matter? Anyway, Severus had already accepted my offer. Very few are truly talented in potions. It was Severus, Sirius and you in your year. Regulus is really talented but he refused. Anyway, if you decide, send me an owl. You can work from home," said Slughorn.

James always felt a twinge whenever someone mentioned Sirius.

"Thanks, Professor. I will think about it, " said Lily.

Slughorn, then shook everybody's hand and left.

Next morning, Daily Prophet was all over the Lockhart -Dorcas-Gideon scandal. Molly, as Lily had predicted blamed Dorcas. Rita Skeeter 's article showed picture of Dorcas sobbing in Regulus' arms, supporting Gideon's comments about their relationship. Molly used that article as proof that Dorcas was, indeed, a whore.

After few days, Rita Skeeter was in newspapers again not as author but primary subject. It turned out that she was an illegal animagus and was sentenced to spend a year in Azkaban. Apparently, Auror office had received an anonymous tip. James and Peter registered as animagus after few months when the war ended. They didn't receive any punishment because Peter was the Chosen One and James was a War Hero.

Finally, the day of departure of their son to Hogwarts arrived. When they reached the King's Cross Station, James was hit with a wave of nostalgia and all memories included one Sirius Black. James could see him laughing. James blinked away his tears and focused on his son.

They met the Weasleys. He saw Alice and Augusta along with Neville helping some muggle family with a bushy -haired kid. He waved to Alice which Alice returned happily.

As they left the station, Lily tugged at his sleeve and stopped him. He looked at Lily.

"James, I have decided to accept Professor Slughorn 's offer," said Lily.

James said,"Ok."

Lily said, "Ok? You don't mind?"

James replied, "No, Lily, I don't if that's what you want to do."

Lily's face brightened up. She then told him all the details of how she will turn one of the room in Manor to her potions' lab.

+#-_-_-#()/+/(#_;((_;) /+++++++

 **Severus Snape POV**

Severus Snape was happy. He was the most notorious and feared teacher at Hogwarts. He had even developed a whiplash move with his hair to look intimidating, which he even practiced in front of the mirror everyday before classes. Students didn't dare cross him. He liked himself like this. He didn't have to pretend for anyone. He just did what he liked. He was no longer a pawn of the Order or a follower of the Dark Lord. It was fun tormenting the kids and other teachers. He was sure Quirrell was afraid of him. Taunting Remus was also a fun activity. He was wearing his trademark black robes, billowing behind him as he headed towards the Great Hall. He had a menacing smile on his face thinking about new targets that will be sorted today.

He kept a sneer on his face as he sat down on his chair next to Remus.

"Severus, you will scare the kids if you keep, eh,.. smiling at them like that, " said Remus.

"That's the idea, werewolf. Mind your own business, " replied Severus.

Remus just shook his head and started minding his own business.

He started glaring at the first years. He saw Remus glance at his direction multiple times. He rolled his eyes and continued his favorite activity of scaring the kids. When Longbottom 's name was called, he looked at the kid with more interest. As soon as his eyes met with the kid's, his glare faltered. Those were the exact same eyes that had bewitched him all those years ago.

 _Damn you, Augusta Longbottom._

He noticed that Remus was observing this sudden change in his behavior so he went back to glaring everyone. Longbottom kid was sorted into Gryffindor. So was Potter and Weasley.

 _Typical. But now I have opportunity to exact revenge on Potter look-alike_

He noticed Slytherin had some promising kids this year, Lestrange, Malfoy and Zabini.

 _Maybe Sirius Black will join them next year but again his name is Sirius Black. I need to torment him, too. But if he is in Slytherin, it would be fun to unleash him on the other houses._

Snape laughed evilly. Remus cleared his throat and Snape noted that he had laughed during the Headmaster 's speech and now everybody was looking at him. Headmaster continued his speech declaring the corridor with philosopher's stone and forbidden forest, forbidden. Then, finally the feast started.

Today, he had potions class with first year Gryffindors and Slytherins. He was standing in front of the mirror practicing his 'intimidating hair whiplash move'.

"Eh..," said Quirrell.

He, at once, panicked.

"Has nobody taught you how to knock, Quirrell? " said Severus darkly.

"I actually knocked se…several times, Sev.. Severus, " said Quirrell.

"And you decided that it would be OK to enter if I didn't respond to your knocks," scoffed Snape.

"The do.. door was…. Oop.. Open…. I didn't know… that… that… you….you will be.. ,setting…styling… your hair," said Quirrell.

Snape felt his cheeks warm a bit.

"Quirrell, one word about my hair to anybody and I will make sure you never speak again, " glowered Snape.

Quirrell stumbled out of his room apologizing.

He was eating the breakfast when Remus joined him.

"What did you say to Quirrell this time? He refused to come to the breakfast saying that you will be there, " said Remus.

He replied in an irritated tone," You really can't mind your own business. You are like a school girl who likes to gossip."

Remus looked a bit flushed at his comment which made him sneer.

"Well, I went to discuss with him if he could take my classes around the full moon but he was in no state to talk. He was rumbling something about hair and you," said Remus.

Severus suddenly became very interested in his eggs, after he gained full control of his emotions, he said," I asked Quirrell if he had hair under his turban, he didn't respond so I threatened to burn his turban to check."

He didn't expect Remus to laugh at his stupid reason.

After Remus recovered from his laughing mode, "You and Quirrell are the only ones who can cover for me."

"Why would I want to teach something like Muggle Studies? "said Snape.

"Yeah, well..", Remus was about to respond but Snape cut him off, "Oh! I will teach in your place."

Remus looked him and said, "Don't worry. It's ok."

He could see Remus was worried about his students.

"Don't worry," said Snape and left.

Now, he was standing outside the class thinking of best way to make entrance. He decided it would be cool, if his robes were flowing a bit. He moved into the class, his wand hidden in his robes while he non-verbally casted the breeze spell. Everybody looked at him, he liked the expressions he saw in turn. Yes, the students were intimidated.

"There would be no foolish wand-waving in this class. The art of brewing potions is precise and delicate. Anybody, who does not pay attention could die or be stuck at some hospital wing for the rest of their lives," said Snape in a menacing tone.

He took roll call.

"So Mr. Potter, your mother wrote to me that you aren't like other dunderheads that I usually get to teach. So tell me what is bezoar used for?" asked Snape.

"Umm.. Uncle Severus . I don't know," replied Harry sheepishly.

"You will address me as Professor Snape. I am not your uncle at Hogwarts, Mr. Potter, " said Snape menacingly.

He saw that one bushy -haired girl was dying to answer. He smiled inwardly that he won't ask her.

"Mr. Longbottom, how about you tell me ingredients of Amortentia? " asked Snape avoiding eye contact with him.

"Sir, I don't know,"said Longbottom and looked down.

"So you fools thought that you will come to lecture with ever opening the book. Mr. Weasley, you look bored, so how about you tell us what does Polyjuice Potion do?" asked Snape.

He again ignored the bushy haired girl.

"Did you expect us to learn the whole book before even coming to first class," said Weasley confidently.

He saw that patience of bushy haired girl had run out.

"Sir..," the girl started but Snape cut her off.

" 5 points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger for speaking without permission, " the Gryffindors tried to protest but he silenced them with a look and continued, "10 points from Gryffindor for Mr. Weasley 's behavior. 5 points from Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom each for not being to answer simple questions. And I will be taking fifty points from the next person who tries to protest. "

He could see the looks of revulsion on the faces of Gryffindors. He sneered and asked the class to open page six and make the potion. He could see that Lestrange was best in potions in this class followed by Malfoy and Granger. Harry was ok not as skilled as his mother, but still ok. The rest were really buffoons.

Few days after the class, he got a very angry letter from Lily. Well, this continued for the whole first year. Nothing interesting happened except the centaurs' revolting against Hagrid which made front page news and also made Augusta Longbottom come to Hogwarts. Severus thanked Merlin that she was wearing sunglasses. And he literally ran away as soon as possible from the Great Hall.

-_-_#)++)#_;;#(/(#_;_#)/-_#-()/-_-_-_-_-

 **Tom Riddle POV**

Tom and Quirrell were sitting in the Forbidden Forest after unsuccessfully trying to track the herd of unicorns. Tom had spent the last two years tracking down the philosopher's stone. When they finally located Nicolas Flamel and his wife, they escaped with the stone after a short duel. Then, they tracked the stone to Gringotts, but the stone was removed before they could successfully rob it. Even after break-in, since the vault was empty, goblins thought it was just a prank.

 _We bloody succeeded in successfully infiltrating Gringotts even if we didn't steal anything. And those goblins thought we were pranking them. Our misadventure didn't even make it to the last page of newspaper. Really, people have forgotten the magnificence of Voldemort._

The adventure to Gringotts, however, gave them a very valuable piece of information. The vault belonged to Albus Dumbledore and so the stone was now in Hogwarts. Quirrell had already joined the staff as Defense against the Dark Arts Professor declaring end of his sabbatical. So now they were in no hurry and were being cautious as to not raise suspicion of Dumbledore. But Tom still needed to raise his power, so they were hunting unicorns so he could drink their blood.

"I thought Severus might help us but he has gone crazy. What the hell was he even doing, moving his hair again and again in front of the mirror, " said Quirrell.

"Are you sure he is not suffering from some magical malady. The way he was moving his neck, it looked like 'cuckoo curse', " said Tom.

"Cuckoo Curse, oh the curse where one unintentionally moves his neck stiffly in difficult poses like a rooster. It's very old and who will cast it at him. It more looked like what he was doing was intentional. Such a brilliant wizard reduced to performing cuckoo curse on himself, " said Quirrell with pity in his voice.

"We all have our own addictions. Severus really was an excellent Death Eater, one of the best among my followers and now he non-verbally casts spells to make his robes flow. Such a shame to lose one, as exceptional as him," said Tom.

"This means we are on our own. While tracking unicorns, we also need to find a way to deal with that monstrous three -headed dog," said Quirrell.

"Oh that would be easy. Since I know what Hagrid wants more than anything, " said Tom.

"And how do you know that, Dark Lord? " asked Quirrell.

"Let's just say we have a history. You need to acquire a dragon's egg," said Tom.

"I should have guessed that half-giant just keeps filling the forbidden forest with the forbidden things," said Quirrell.

"Well, that was why he was expelled but it looks like he didn't learn his lesson. Seriously, the Acromantula nest we ran into was nothing but trouble, " said Tom.

"While we are acquiring Dragon's egg, can we open Chamber of Secrets? I really want to see it, Dark Lord ," said Quirrell.

"Oh, you will see it next year. I am saving it for the Chosen One 's son," smiled Tom maliciously.

"Don't remind me, Dark Lord. I even stood in line for an hour to get his autograph. Instead of his son, let's release the basilisk on that rat. It's a good thing we weren't in Hogwarts for the Peter's Day as I might have accidentally killed him," said Quirrell.

"Let me get my hands on the philosopher's stone. After I rise to power, I will give that rat to you to torture as you wish, " said Tom.

"You are really generous, my lord," said Quirrell.

Just then, there was rustling of leaves behind them and a centaur appeared.

"You bring great darkness to this forest, foolish one," said the centaur.

"Should we kill him, Dark Lord? " asked Quirrell completely ignoring the centaur.

"Yeah, go ahead. I actually have a great idea as to what to do with his corpse," said Tom smiling vengefully.

Quirrell killed the centaur and as per Tom's instructions left the corpse near Acromantula's nest. They saw the spiders consuming corpse of the centaur and smiled evilly.

Next day, Quirrell was having breakfast in the Great Hall while Tom was hidden in turban. Tom could access Quirrell 's brain, he could see and feel, what Quirrell was seeing and feeling. They could communicate with each other telepathically. He was sitting next to Filius. Severus moved his neck like cuckoo curse and sat down next to the werewolf. He could see Hagrid, nonchalantly, eating bacon. Suddenly, multiple sounds of the hoofs were heard outside the Great Hall. The door opened and three centaurs entered. Dumbledore, at once, stood up.

"We need to talk, Albus " said the centaur in the center in a no nonsense tone.

There was a small unrest among students which was quelled when Dumbledore asked them to calm down. Dumbledore along with Minerva and Hagrid moved to the grounds.

 _Let's follow Dumbledore._

Quirrell got up and followed. Other teachers followed his example.

"Last night, one of our own was killed and eaten by the Acromantula that this half – giant is breeding in the forest," said the centaur.

"Aragog will never do that," said Hagrid angrily.

"Ara…Aragog…. You….. You…have named..the spiders…. That…that… eat people," quipped Quirrell in a slightly alarmed tone.

 _Oh, I have a great idea. Let's send this whole conversation to Malfoy anonymously. He would make the shenanigans more entertaining._

"Calm down, Quirrell, " said Dumbledore.

"You can make your employees calm down but not us. We have been living in this forest for centuries. It is our forest. Either you do something about it or we will. We will be back tomorrow morning for your answer," said the centaur.

" Do you have any proof? " said Hagrid angrily.

" We do not disrespect our dead but this once we will make an exception for the preservation of our future generations, " said the centaur and signaled the centaurs at the back.

The two centaurs at the back brought a half-eaten corpse of centaur that Quirrell had killed last night. Quirrell fainted, well acted like he had fainted. Everybody except Hagrid, Dumbledore, Severus and Werewolf averted their eyes from the corpse.

Hagrid was stunned, so Dumbledore walked him to his cottage after asking Severus and werewolf to take care of Quirrell. Werewolf revived him and helped him up while Severus ignored him.

Then, Quirrell wrote a detailed letter to Malfoy who apparently made copies of the letter and sent it to everyone who was on the Hogwarts Board of Governors.

Next morning, again door of Great Hall opened during the breakfast but instead of centaurs, it was fourteen wizards. The whole Hogwarts Board of Governors has arrived along with a journalist and a photographer.

 _I told you Malfoy will make it fun._

There was a look of slight panic on the face of Dumbledore but he hid it well. The twelve wizards moved towards the teachers' table. Tom could see some of his followers among the twelve wizards. Regulus Black wearing expensive robes and looking elegant and beautiful as always, Lucius Malfoy with his cane sneering at Dumbledore, Rabastan Lestrange with bulging muscles, Thomas Travers still uptight as ever and Marius Flint looking well-fed.

Dumbledore tried to play coy," What brings you gentlemen to Hogwarts so early in the morning? "

Lucius Malfoy, chairman of the Board of Governors, said,' Really, Dumbledore. Are you going to play games right now when the lives of children are in danger."

"Acromantula have never harmed a student, " said Hagrid.

Dumbledore raised his hand to silence Hagrid. Photographer was taking pictures continuously.

"And we should trust you, why?" said Rabastan Lestrange.

Hagrid clenched his jaws. The students and teachers were watching the scene, ignoring the fact that it was times for the classes to begin.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the board of Governors, the centaurs had arrived and were watching the scene.

"Gentlemen, let's sit down and discuss this," said Dumbledore.

"There is nothing to discuss. You send students to do detentions in the forbidden forest while you are keeping the Acromantula as pet there," said Regulus in a firm tone.

Tom could see that out of all his followers present, Regulus was the real gem. His demeanor commanded respect and when he talked he could make people listen without raising his voice.

"There was a half-eaten corpse of a centaur. Do you need a half-eaten corpse of a student to take some action, " said Lucius Malfoy.

"We want the Acromantula removed from our forest, " came a voice of centaur from behind.

Everybody turned around and looked at the centaur.

Regulus ignored the centaur and said," My son will be attending Hogwarts next year. So I will give you three choices either relocate the Acromantula nest or relocate the school, if you can't do either I will wipe out that Acromantula nest from the forest myself."

 _Oh! Regulus has a son. And he will be joining at the same time as Rat's son._

"Regulus, be reasonable..," started Dumbledore but was cut off by Regulus.

"It's Mr. Black for you, Mr. Dumbledore, " said Regulus in a firm tone.

Tom felt like clapping while Quirrell was trying to fight down the smile.

"You Death Eaters can't come here and make demands, "said Hagrid but them he toppled over table fell stunned.

Regulus had stunned the half-giant in such a swift wave of wand that hardly anybody noticed. He threw a single stunner that was powerful enough to stun a half-giant in one go. Tom was truly impressed by Regulus.

"Mr. Black, there was no need for that," said Dumbledore.

"There was, since he kept interrupting a serious conversation with his ridiculous comments. I have given you three choices, choose now or we will choose for you," said Regulus.

Dumbledore didn't say anything.

"Lucius as chairman of the Board of Governors, call the ministry. Tell them they can do whatever they want but I want those Acromantula gone from the Forbidden forest and I am sure every governor wants this," said Regulus.

"Very well, Regulus. Thanks for making the Headmaster understand. I am sending urgent message to the ministry. We will stay here until the ministry representatives arrive, " said Lucius. Regulus nodded. Tom could see that many girls were ogling Regulus.

Then Augusta Longbottom wearing a strange vulture hat and sunglasses came from behind. Apparently she was talking to her grandson rather than listening to the discussion. Now all board of Governors were talking to their children.

Tom observed that Severus at once, stiffened on seeing Augusta Longbottom.

 _Wonder what he did to earn ire of the old coot._

Augusta Longbottom was talking to Regulus Black. Severus sat still for a few minutes. He got up suddenly and left the Great Hall. He didn't even use the 'cuckoo curse' to move his neck or made his robes flow.

Dumbledore was now being reprimanded by Augusta Longbottom. Minerva asked all the teachers and students to go attend their classes.

Daily Prophet had a field day. Dumbledore was criticized severely. Ministry officials gave choice to the Acromantula to either relocate to the forest in Croatia or well, be killed. It wasn't much of a choice but now the Forbidden Forest was Acromantula -free. Hagrid cried for days and spent his days getting drunk.

Tom and Quirrell found a few unicorns and Tom drank their blood.

Quirrell, finally acquired Norwegian Ridgeback 's egg.

They easily fooled the drunk Hagrid. Hagrid, now, had a dragon egg and they knew how to get past Fluffy.

 _That dog is anything but fluffy._

Rest of the traps were easy but they got stuck at Mirror of Erised. They went to mirror multiple times but with no success. They spent their time researching the mirror but to no avail.

"Is DADA position really cursed?" asked Quirrell one day.

"Yes, it is," said Tom.

"The year is ending and we need to stay at Hogwarts. Why did you even place the curse? You don't seem like teacher material, " said Quirrell.

"Let's kill one of the teachers and you can take their place. Since, killing could arouse suspicion, Imperius one of the teachers and send them on sabbatical. And teacher is a great position to get followers," said Tom.

"Which one do you think is the best target for Imperius? " asked Quirrell.

"The Astronomy Professor, "said Tom.

"My Lord, where should we go for summer Vacation? " asked Quirrell.

"The lost library of Alexandria," said Tom.

Quirrell nodded.

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Next Chapter: Our guy, Sirius, goes to Hogwarts.


	6. Chapter 6

The Other World

SUMMARY:

Sirius Black son of Orion Black falls through The Veil and is reborn as Sirius Black son of Regulus Black in the other world. And well, wherever Sirius goes, Sirius is Sirius.

Author's Note: Italics are thoughts of people when story is from their POV. English is not my native language.

Thanks **nadasnape and Bastet26** for reviewing and everybody who favorited or followed the story despite its shortcomings

 **Bastet26** Don't worry. English is not my mother tongue either and I am highly criticized because of it.

This chapter is dedicated both to **nadasnape** and **Bastet26.**

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Chapter 5

 **Remus** **Lupin POV**

Remus Lupin was sitting on the sofa drinking tea in his cottage. Last year that he had spent in Hogwarts, had been fun. He would not have believed if someone told him a year ago that it would be because of Severus Snape's crazy sense of humor. All students and teachers, except him, avoided Severus. When others saw that he didn't feel intimidated by Severus (in case of students) or vexed by Severus (in case of other teachers), they started using him as a messenger. He, often, refused to play this role but was forced to do it, anyway. This increased his interaction with Severus, which either resulted in him laughing his ass off or bickering with Severus. The other teacher, he really got along with was Quirinus Quirrell. That guy was always stuttering but sometimes he could literally shut people off with his satire. In addition, if one placed Severus and Quirinus in the same room, they acted like a comedy duo.

Not all times have been jovial, like when he saw Regulus Black among the Governors due to Centaur -Acromantula incident. Guilt had, once again, ripped him apart from inside. Therefore, he had left the Great Hall as soon as possible. In the staff meeting next day, the Headmaster had shown traces of anger towards Regulus Black. So he had asked Severus and Quirinus as to what happened. Severus happily replayed his memory for him in the pensieve, in front of all staff members.

Last night, he went to meet Mrs. Potter who made the chicken stew for him. He told her all about his experience as a teacher in Hogwarts. She was happy that he was enjoying himself.

After two days, it was full moon. He didn't have any Wolfsbane potion but he was content. Then, he heard a knock on the door. His heartbeat quickened in anticipation that finally the 'stranger' had decided to meet him. He quickly got up and opened the door to see Severus Snape. He was surprised.

"So much for the hospitality of werewolves, they don't even greet people who come to help them," said Snape giving weird jerk to his hair.

"Oh sorry, Severus. It's just that I am surprised. Come inside," said Remus.

Remus made him sit on the sofa and served him tea.

"So what brings you here? " asked Remus.

Severus put his cup down and took out the Wolfsbane potion.

"It's full moon after two days. But this is the last time I am bringing it for you. You have a job, order it from The Potion Stop from now on," said Severus.

Severus' kindness touched Remus.

"I didn't know that they made this potion, " said Remus.

"They'd make any potion you order, as long as you pay," said Severus.

"Oh, are the potions made there effective? Do they compromise on quality? I don't know much about them but the way they expanded in no time at all kind of makes me wonder," said Remus.

Remus didn't know why but Severus looked insulted.

"Have I said something wrong? " asked Remus cautiously.

"Do you know who owns it or who makes the potions there?" asked Severus.

Remus shook his head.

"It is owned by Regulus Black, " said Severus.

'Oh' escaped from Remus' mouth. This explained Severus' confidence in the shop because everyone knew, whether they liked Blacks or not, that Blacks never compromised on quality.

Severus continued, " And the potions at the shop are made by Walburgha Black, Horace Slughorn, Lily Potter and me."

Now he understood why Severus looked insulted.

"Does Mrs. Potter know that she is working for the Blacks?" said Remus, despite trying he couldn't help the sarcasm in his voice.

"Who cares about Mrs. Potter? Anyway, now you know, you can trust the potions made at that shop," said Severus.

Remus was surprised that Severus didn't care about Lily anymore. Then same was the case with him but as far as he knew Severus was not a dark creature, even if he acted like one. Maybe, Lily's friends criticized his hygiene or something.

"Severus, why did you change?" asked Remus without expecting an answer.

"I just wanted to be myself and do whatever I wanted. Funny thing is one expects such words of wisdom from adults around them, however, I got this insight from a kid arguing with his father about when he will do what he wants to do, if not now," replied Severus.

Severus looked at Remus and continued, "I don't want to fight for Dumbledore's greater good or Dark Lord's cause. If I fight, I want to do it for myself. I want to be free."

Remus smiled at Severus and said," It's strange both of us decided something similar because of strangers. A stranger helped me, not just any help, this stranger went out of his way to help someone like me. That made me realize that I want to be someone who can help that stranger if they ever wanted it. And I would never become that person until I got over my insecurities and was free of all attachments. The only person I feel any attachment to is someone who died years ago."

"Don't you have any firewhisky? " asked Severus.

This made Remus laugh and he brought a bottle of firewhisky from his pantry with two glasses.

They drank for half an hour in companionable silence. Remus asked Severus to stay for dinner, which he was reluctant to do in the beginning but when Remus assured him that he will be his food taster , he agreed.

While Remus was preparing dinner, Severus was shamelessly going through his pantry.

"You should buy from groceries from Lidalia rather than Crappies, they give thirty percent discount to the wizards with Order of Merlin, First Class, " said Severus.

"I never got any Order of Merlin, " replied Remus while frying vegetables.

"What do you mean you didn't get any? You saved lives of more people than me, Potter and the Chosen One. Well, Chosen One might have saved only his own life, though " said Severus.

"I am a werewolf, remember? " said Remus sarcastically.

"Oh, I forgot you are a half-breed. Chosen One's wife hates the half-breeds though she looks like one. Maybe, some ancestor of hers married a toad, " sneered Severus.

Remus laughed and said," Like I am in any condition to comment on how someone looks."

Severus and he had dinner that night. After that they didn't meet again or corresponded for about a month with each other, until he got an owl from Dumbledore to go to Alexandria with Severus. Apparently, Quirinus had gotten himself arrested by trying to steal books from 'the lost library of Alexandria.' Although, he knew he should be worried about Quirinus being incarcerated in a prison in some foreign land, he couldn't help laughing.

He met Severus at Hogsmeade. Severus was his, usual, cynical self.

"What was that idiot thinking? " said Severus jerking his head and hair in weird way, like he usually did.

Remus laughed but stopped and apologized.

"It's ok to laugh at his stupidity," said Severus in a mocking tone.

Since long distance Apparition was dangerous, they were to make around six stops before reaching Alexandria. When they finally reached Alexandria, it was night so they went to the Inn named Alibaba where Severus had booked rooms for them. It was a good clean establishment. The reason why Severus chose this Inn was that they provided discount to wizards with Order of Merlin, which enabled them to book suites at price of common rooms.

Severus had commented, "These discounts are the only reason I don't throw away this stupid Order of Merlin."

Remus had to take his comment back about it just being a good clean establishment because the suite was luxurious in every way. Then he realized that only reception of this Inn looked normal, once inside it was extremely lavish. Remus asked Severus during dinner if their limited budget permitted them such luxurious suite and food, but Severus didn't bother answering.

Next day, they went to 'Qaid', the jail which was holding Quirinus. They gave the release papers to the officer concerned, who smiled at them.

"It's been seven hundred years that someone tried to steal from that library. Judge found it quite amusing that's why your friend got such a light sentence," informed the officer.

Remus was surprised and he saw that Severus, too, was astonished at first but then frowned. After few minutes, they brought Quirinus. He looked healthy nothing like the people who were sent to Azkaban looked like. On seeing them, Quirinus brightened up. Remus hugged him while Severus kept glaring at him, which again wasn't unusual.

That night at dinner, Remus asked him as to why he stole the books. He replied that he took them with him accidentally and didn't know what was happening until alarms started ringing everywhere. Since, it was Quirinus both of them believed that this must be the reason. Severus asked about his experience in prison.

"Overall, it wa…wass good… until…until they gave me… war…warning that if..if..I.. didn't remove..my.. my turban an…and… shampooed my…my head since… it…it… smelled… like…rotten.. garbage.. , they will…ll send me..me to third maximum .. Sec…security section which…wa.. was guarded by a mino…. .minotaur who…who.. liked torturing the…pris …. prisoners there," said Quirinus.

"Shampoo, ohh, so they used muggle torture techniques, " said Severus in an understanding tone.

"How is using shampoo a Muggle torture technique? "Asked Remus incredulously.

Both Severus and Quirinus looked offended at his question. Remus knew by now that Severus and Quirinus never agreed on anything, but when they did, it was always something completely ridiculous. Next day, they left Alexandria. All went their on way on reaching Hogsmeade.

Next week, he accidentally bumped into Severus in the Diagon Alley. Remus suggested to have lunch together at the Leaky Cauldron, which Severus agreed if they wore cloaks all the time, and hid their faces since he didn't want to be seen in public with him. He was used to Severus' unusual demands. They were sitting in the corner table eating lunch when they saw Quirinus being dragged to the table near their table by none other than the Chosen One.

"Order whatever you want, Professor Quirrell, "said the Chosen One in a chirpy tone.

"Oh…the…. .there.. is no need for….for this, Mr. Pettigrew," said Quirinus.

"Don't be shy, Professor Quirrell. Hey, Tom bring two of your special and give us a bottle of firewhisky, too," said Pettigrew.

Remus could see that Quirinus was fidgeting more than he usually did. Tom brought their order and they started eating and drinking.

"Professor Quirrell, my son will be attending Hogwarts this year," said Pettigrew.

"Oh..that….that's.. won. Wonderful to hear, "said Quirinus.

"Yes, it is wonderful. Since you are the only professor, I really trust, I want you to take care of my son," said Pettigrew.

"I will… I….wi… will… take… sp… special care… of… him," said Quirinus.

"Thanks, Professor. I know you will. There is something else; I need to warn you about. Keep an eye on the Black's son. Apparently, despite his young age, he is very interested in the Dark Arts," said Pettigrew.

"Don't.. wo…. Worry… I ll… ke… keep both… ey… eyes on him. What… what is.. is his name? "asked Quirinus.

"Sirius Orion Black, "said Peter with disgust in his voice.

Remus saw that Quirinus' shoulders stiffened and he looked genuinely surprised.

"I know why you are surprised. After all, who names their kid after some traitor and criminal, "sneered Peter.

Remus got up angrily thinking of beating the hell out of Pettigrew. Severus stunned him and he fell with a clatter. Everybody looked towards them but Severus ignored them and apparated them outside his cottage.

There he enervated him.

Remus shouted, "What the hell? How could that traitor? Why did you stun me?"

" I don't have strength to deal with werewolf, physically. And it's good to know that I am not the only one who thinks like that about the Chosen One. But why are you so aggravated.. Hahhahaha… it will soon be time to have fun with the Chosen One's son," said Severus maliciously and apparated.

Remus knew Severus was especially enjoying tormenting the kids of Marauders. Even though, Harry wasn't a big troublemaker like his father, he received many creative detentions from Severus. That meant Albus Pettigrew would be serving most of his year in detention. He didn't even want to think what Severus would do to the exact copy of Sirius Black joining them, this year.

After few days, Remus was packing his trunk for Hogwarts, again.

-_#()-_#-#-#-#(/++)#_#((-#()/i

 **Sirius Black POV**

Sirius was enjoying his eleventh birthday cake or rather eating part of his face in cake form. His birthday cakes were not ordered from any special bakery; Twinky always made them as his birthday gifts. This birthday, Twinky made his statue in cake form. It was even the same height. He was eating his eye when Bella decided to disturb him.

"My little nephew will go to Hogwarts, this year," said Bellatrix cheerfully, sitting next to him.

He only mumbled 'hmmm.'

"It would be nice to have another Slytherin in the family," said Bellatrix.

"Or he could be in Gryffindor," said Regulus from behind walking towards them.

Bellatrix frowned and said," That didn't turn out so well, last time, now did it?"

Regulus gave her a cold stare and said, " This isn't the last time, now, is it? "

Marlene joined the conversation, "It doesn't matter which house he goes to."

Lockhart also decided to add his few cents," He could be in Hufflepuff like me."

Bellatrix looked at him as if Voldemort was dancing on his head wearing a gorilla costume.

"Let's bet on his school house. It will be fun," said Dorcas.

Marlene looked indignantly at Dorcas but apparently, Lucius Malfoy had heard her suggestion. So, now everybody was placing bets on his school house and the person who won this bet, in the end, would have a small fortune at his/her hand. Lucius had called the goblin who managed his finances to record the bets. Almost all bets were on Slytherin, few like his father, mother, grandmother, godmother, Lucius Malfoy and Rabastan Lestrange bet on Gryffindor, Lockhart was the only one to bet on Hufflepuff and his grandfather bet on Ravenclaw. He was thinking about how he must have acted and behaved in the eleven years of his life that to most people, he was Slytherin material.

"You do know that there is no pressure on you. It's just a ridiculous bet. You can be in Hufflepuff, if you want, " said Regulus in a soft tone.

"And let Lockhart win and make my life miserable. No thanks, "said Sirius, mock-glaring his father.

Suddenly, Lockhart 's voice boomed in the venue.

"If I can have everybody's attention, I have special birthday present for the birthday boy. Come here, Sirius, " said Lockhart.

Sirius groaned while his father suppressed his laughter.

"Come on, birthday boy. I know you are worried that people might judge you because you are not as good looking as me, but I assure you that you will look better when you grow up, " said Lockhart cheerfully.

The Blacks laughed at this, rather sardonically.

Sirius walked over to Lockhart.

"I present to you copy of my recruitment papers, of course, with my autograph. You get me as a gift for one year at Hogwarts. I will be your Defense against the Dark Arts Professor and you will be my favorite student, "said Lockhart flashing his teeth at Sirius.

Many people especially girls at Hogwarts clapped loudly at this news.

Sirius tried his best to smile at this 'awesome' gift. His eyes fell on his parents who were trying their best not to laugh at his expression. Dorcas was slapping Marlene on shoulder, asking her to behave. Sirius finally managed to escape the Lockhart zone. He walked towards Regulus who was sitting alone away from the crowd.

Regulus, finally laughed when Sirius sat beside him, "Sweet Salazar, this might be the best birthday present received by any Black in our long family tree."

Sirius gave a mock-shocked look to his father," Is my gift even better than the stuffed house-elf that Uncle Sirius gifted to Grandfather Pollux?"

Both father and son laughed.

Then he said seriously, "Dad, you said I should talk to you before I try any difficult or advanced magic."

Regulus' expression changed and he said, "Tomorrow morning, in my study."

He said, "Ok."

Regulus said in an amused tone, "For now, why don't you go ahead and enjoy your gift. "

Sirius said," Oh! Come on, Dad."

Regulus hugged him and said in a sad voice, " I will miss you a lot ,you know."

Just then Twinky apparated in front of them. Sirius smiled at her and she joined the hug saying, "Twinky will miss Master Sirius, too."

Sirius said," Unlike me, you will all be together. "

Regulus said, "Sirius, you never made any friend in the past eleven years. I didn't say anything because I thought it was your nature. You know friends are important. In order to fully enjoy your time at Hogwarts, you need to make friends. "

Sirius said, " I don't need any other friend. I have you, mom, granddad, grandma, Twinky, Aunt Dorcas. You are my best friend, Dad. Why would I need anybody else? "

Regulus replied, "None of these people will be with you in Hogwarts. I want you to be happy. "

Sirius almost shouted, "Friends? I don't need friends who will betray me, I don't need friends who won't trust me, I… I just don't need friends."

It was a good thing that they were away from the crowd so no one heard this little outburst. He saw Twinky had large tears in her eyes, threatening to drop any second. He lifted his head to see his father's face. His father's eyes were wet.

He hugged his father tightly and said in a small voice, "I am afraid to make friends, Dad."

He didn't notice that he was crying.

His father wiped his tears with his hands and said," I understand. But, at least for me, I hope you will try."

Sirius nodded and gave his handkerchief to Twinky and smiled.

Soon, Orion Black who noticed the somber atmosphere joined them. He sat with them silently and tapped on Sirius' back. Well, the somber mood didn't last long as Lockhart decided to join them as well telling Sirius, he was the luckiest boy in the world because he will make his first Hogwarts year special just by being there. Finally, some Greengrass woman dragged Lockhart away and they laughed.

Orion Black said jokingly, "I can understand why you were crying, son. Having Lockhart as a gift must be a traumatic experience."

They all grinned.

Next morning after breakfast, he went to his father's study. Regulus was looking at some documents, but stopped when he saw Sirius. Sirius sat down opposite his father.

"So, what does my son want to try now?" asked Regulus, smiling at him.

"Dad, I want to become an animagus, illegal animagus," said Sirius.

"I don't have anything against you becoming animagus or rather illegal animagus but don't you think it's a little early. You can wait for a few years," said Regulus.

"Dad, I read that the wizard's core stabilizes when they become eleven. Therefore, they can attempt advance magic. Besides, I have completely researched the procedure," said Sirius.

 _Or rather done it before._

"How much time will it take? " asked Regulus.

"Three months since I already know what my form is. The most time consuming part is getting the form right," said Sirius.

"And how do you know your form?" questioned Regulus.

"Ah.. Well.. I might have checked with some spells, " said Sirius avoiding Regulus' eyes.

"Fine, you can give me your notes. When I get my form down, we can become animagus together, "said Regulus.

Sirius looked at his father incredulously.

"No need to look at me like that. You are only becoming animagus if I am becoming one with you, " said Regulus.

Sirius grinned at his father.

"Think you can do it, old man, " said Sirius.

"I am not an old man, kid. Now get me those notes if you want to become an animagus," said Regulus.

Sirius was wondering where he would get the notes since there were no notes. He would just have to make them.

He got up and was about to leave when his father asked, "What is your form by the way?"

He smiled and replied, 'The Grim."

He saw that his father's eyes were wide with surprise. Then he left the room, laughing inwardly at making his father speechless. He went to his room and started preparing notes.

After few weeks, he was playing Quidditch with Regulus, Marlene, Dorcas and Lockhart when Moody and Amelia joined them. Everybody went down to greet them. The family had become even closer when Sirius spent a month with Moody and Amelia, being trained by Moody. His parents and sometimes, even his grandparents joined them at the Moody's Lake house. Moody and Regulus often challenged each other to duel. Some were won by Moody and some by Regulus.

"Regulus, Sirius , come here. I want to talk to both of you, " said Moody.

They walked over to Moody.

"So, I heard Amelia talking to one of her friends. She thinks I will leave her because she can't have kids apparently because of some curse. So, I know I am old but I was thinking of proposing her. What do you think? " said Moody with his head down.

"What are you waiting for? " said Sirius and Regulus together.

They looked at each other and laughed.

"You think it's ok," asked Moody.

"Of course. It is, " said Regulus.

"Just do it already or do I need to brew another love potion, " said Sirius.

Moody mock-glared at him and ruffled his hair.

"I will do it tonight, "said Moody.

"Good. Moreover, tell Aunt Amelia not to worry about kids. You can always adopt. And if both of you are so desperate to give up 'peace' in your life, I can always help," said Sirius.

They smiled at him.

Just after a week, Moody and Amelia got married in a small ceremony at Ministry.

Nowadays Sirius was learning about the elf-magic from Twinky. Since, he wasn't an elf, he couldn't do it. Nevertheless, learning about it, he thought, could not be harmful. He had a special gift in mind for Twinky so he needed to know about her magic. He was still not on good terms with Kreacher and he knew he never would be. Kreacher apparently hated him as well since he was the reason; Kreacher could no longer work in Grimmauld Place for his Master Regulus.

He had learned all about magical creatures because of Silver. Well, it started with Phoenixes but continued as he became interested in one creature, then another. He had even learned how to ask unicorn to purify something, which didn't require much of asking but rather kidnapping. McKinnon Library had a huge collection on Magical Creatures. By luck, he found an ancient tome made up of scrolls written by Helga Hufflepuff on the wandless magic. Marlene told her that her grandfather had spent half of their fortune to acquire it and then, he placed a special charm so only a McKinnon could read it. All he could see were jumbled up words, unable to understand anything in it. He told his mother, since he was a Black, he couldn't understand it at all. She laughed and said that he was also a McKinnon because to others it would just appear blank. She asked him to keep it and told him that when the tome senses that he can learn it without incurring any damage to his body or core; he will be able to read it. She added that Helga Hufflepuff was one of the gentlest soul and never wanted even a single being, harmed due to magic.

One night after his eleventh birthday, he was looking at the Helga's tome again and found that few spells have appeared in it. He understood that these were the spells that his core and body was able to learn now, as per Helga Hufflepuff 's scale. He happily learned and practiced them. He also realized that wandless magic was far more difficult than magic with wand and required enormous amount of concentration and time to master. However, once mastered they became second nature. The first spell he mastered was the wandless version of Wingardium Leviosa.

Sirius' Hogwarts days were just around the corner. Today, they were going to the Diagon Alley to purchase the things required for his school year. In his past life, he never had any loving parents to take him to the Diagon Alley for shopping. This time, however, he had three more couples beside his own parents who were going with him. Lord and Lady Black have kept their schedule open for this day. Dorcas and Lockhart, both, had appointments in the Diagon Alley and wanted to accompany him half the way. Moody and Amelia also wanted to join. Now, here, eight adults who wanted to do shopping for him surrounded him. He was first dragged by the ladies to the Madam Malkin's Robes. After getting his size measured at the robe shop, he escaped the ladies, leaving them there to discuss the color and texture of robes. He didn't want to know how many shades of black there were or which texture was more smoother or silkier. He saw his father standing outside the Quality Quidditch Shop and ran towards him. Before he could reach his father, he bumped into someone.

He apologized and looked up to see none other than Euphemia Potter. She kept looking at him. He kept looking at her. This was his first encounter with Mrs. Potter in this life. He knew he had to turn his eyes away because he could feel his eyes slowly filling with tears. In his past life, this was the only woman who had truly loved him. He ducked his head and looked down. Just then, a raindrop fell on his cheek. He looked up to see the sky but saw it wasn't rain but a tear drop. Tears were silently dropping from her eyes. He didn't know what to do so he just took out his handkerchief and held it out to her without looking at her. She took the handkerchief. Then she bent down and kissed him on his forehead.

 _So she believes me…._

Meanwhile, a boy ran towards them and pulled Mrs. Potter's hand saying, "Grandmother, let's eat ice cream."

Sirius looked at the boy, Harry Potter. Last, he had seem him; he was five years old; when Sirius had thrown Molly Weasley away.

Just then, Lockhart entered the emotional scene, making it anything but emotional and asked Sirius if he wanted to come with him to Flourish and Blotts, where he had book-signing ceremony. This gave him some time to get his bearings. He declined and joined the three gentlemen who were, very seriously, discussing what kind of pet he should take with him to the school. He didn't know 'pet' was such a big issue until then. He decided to go meet Mr. Ollivander.

Mr. Ollivander smiled at him as he entered. He greeted Mr. Ollivander enthusiastically as some blonde girl left the shop. Mr. Ollivander told him many of his wands have chosen wizards. He was discussing with Ollivander about new substances for the core when his family finally remembered about him. Orion Black took him to the pet shop, where everybody minus Lockhart was gathered. Even after such lengthy discussion on owls, they had left it to Sirius, to decide which owl he wanted.

 _It would have been better if they had just asked me in the beginning._

He chose the jet-black owl with blood red eyes. Shopkeeper praised his choice but he knew, he would have said the same thing if he had chosen the other ones. Since he was bored, he decided that opening all the cages in the shop might be entertaining. So he just did that while shopkeeper was busy with his parents. And after ten minutes, a chaos ensued. The animals were running here and there in the Diagon Alley. People were running after them trying to catch them or away from them, while he sat down to eat ice cream. After an hour, many of the animals were captured while Regulus paid for the ones that were now enjoying permanent freedom. List of the books was given to Lockhart as he would be spending the whole day at the Flourish and Blotts.

Sirius was reading the Daily Prophet after a few days when he noticed a small news article on the last page. It told brief account of Hogwarts Professor named Quirinus Quirrell, arrested for trying to steal books from the lost library of Alexandria.

 _So Voldemort is already back. And seriously, who gets caught while trying to steal books._

"Silver, " Sirius called his phoenix.

Silver came and sat on his hand. Sirius stroked its feathers.

"Silver, I want you to be with my father all the time when he isn't at home. I want you to protect him," said Sirius.

Silver looked at him and nodded. He stroked its head.

"I will miss you, Silver, "said Sirius solemnly. Silver put its head on his palm.

"Twinky," said Sirius.

"Yes, Master Sirius," said Twinky.

Sirius then gave a small wand to her; he had made that for Twinky. Twinky blinked and looked at him.

"Twinky, I know you don't use wand but if some scenario arises, where using the wand could help you save yourself or my family, please do so. It would be better if you kept this wand hidden. I want you to check on mom, from time to time, to make sure she is ok. Take care of my mother, Twinky. Twinky, you need to ask Kreacher to do the same for grandma and granddad. He doesn't listen to me but he will listen to you," said Sirius.

Sirius then looked at both Twinky and Silver, "You both are my friends. I don't want any harm to come to you but at the same time I am making a selfish request, please protect my family when I am at Hogwarts. "

Twinky was crying again. Silver, again, placed his head on his palm while Sirius was trying to calm Twinky.

Sirius knew that, no matter how much the Blacks try to avoid the war, they would be dragged in it, one way or the other. And this time he won't lose the people he loved.

Then, finally, it was the day to go to Hogwarts.

"Mom, I don't want to go to Hogwarts, "said Sirius during breakfast.

"I think you are the first child in the wizarding world to say that," said Marlene.

"Don't worry. It will be OK," said Regulus smiling at him.

Eight adults along with Twinky and Silver at the King's Cross Station again surrounded him.

They were all hugging him and wishing him best of luck. Twinky put his trunk and belongings in the train. He was trying his best not to look around. His eyes locked with his father and his father smiled at him. That gave him courage.

He heard a voice of boy saying, "Daddy, he is the kid that made grandmother cry."

Sirius looked towards the source of voice. It was James Potter with his son. The silver eyes locked with the hazel eyes. The hazel eyes still had that hatred but it was mixed with longing. He saw James take a step towards him, it seemed like he was in some kind of trance, shaking slightly; but his father came in front of him as James was joined by the Chosen One and his family.

The Chosen One said, "Are these dark wizards bothering you, James? "

All adults around him turned towards the Chosen One.

"What? No, Peter, "said James, confused a little.

Moody moved towards them saying, "If it isn't Potter? How have you been, lad?"

James shook hands with Moody and told him that everything was fine and he was here to drop off his son.

Regulus asked him which compartment, he wanted to sit in. He told his father that he wanted to sit in the last compartment.

He sat down in the last compartment of the train. He locked it and put silencing charms on it. He wanted to be alone. He knew what James felt. He was going to Hogwarts where no Prongs, Moony or Wormtail will be waiting for him. There will be no Marauders. He needed to cry, he needed to get it all out so that he could start again. Therefore, he spent his train ride crying, shouting, sobbing, and cursing. At the end of train ride, he was finally fresh, again.

He took a deep breath as the train stopped. He was ready to face the world again.

#_-#()/)#;:;_#)/++/)(#-((-(/+++/

 **SEVERUS SNAPE POV**

Severus Snape was sitting with other teachers in the staff room. He was happy. In few hours, he will have fresh blood to torture. Besides, two kids who represented Marauders would have the pleasure of being his new victims. However, he was not happy about the new colorful addition to staff, Gilderoy Lockhart. The way he flashed his teeth, it took all of Severus' willpower not to break them. Remus came over and sat next to him, somehow they started bickering over which house Sirius Black will get into. Severus was sure it would be Slytherin while Remus insisted on Gryffindor. Gilderoy Lockhart overheard their conversation and threw a pouch on table. They both looked at him.

He flashed his teeth and said," Fifty galleons, he will be in Hufflepuff. "

Both Remus and Severus snorted at this.

Then Severus threw a pouch and said, "Slytherin."

Remus followed the suit saying, "Gryffindor."

Minerva Mcgonagall was looking at them disdainfully.

Filius and Quirinus asked them what they were betting on. Severus told them they were betting on Sirius Black's house in school.

"Ravenclaw "said Filius and threw the money.

All three of them looked at him.

"Well, I often wished that his uncle was a Ravenclaw. He was one of the best I have ever taught, "said Filius.

Quirinus decided to participate, too. He put the money on table and said, "Slytherin. "

Severus smiled at him.

Pomona Sprout quietly put money on table and said, "Gryffindor. "

Severus saw Remus beam at Sprout.

"Really, putting bets on student's house, this is what the staff will do now, "said Minerva clucking disapprovingly.

Severus sneered, "Come on, Minerva. Be a Gryffindor for once and place the bet."

Minerva looked at him angrily and said, "Fine. Slytherin."

Then Minerva took out money from her bag and put on the table.

Just then, Headmaster entered the staff room. His eyes fell on the small pile of galleons and pouches on the table.

"What's going on here? "Asked Dumbledore in an amused tone with a twinkle in his eyes.

 _He must use some kind of magic on his eyes to get them all twinkle twinkle little star._

Severus could see most of them were embarrassed to be caught, or almost caught betting on such a thing.

Severus smiled maliciously and said," Nothing that concerns you, Headmaster. "

"Maybe, we… We…should… g..go to Great… great.. Hall, now," said Quirinus.

Headmaster waited for a minute or two, so someone might answer his question but no one did. Therefore, he left. Quirinus always surprised him in unexpected moments, as he was one of the three wizards who weren't embarrassed at betting at all. Well, third one was the shameless, Lockhart.

"There is a big bet going on among Sacred 28 circle on Sirius' house, too. Last, I heard the pool was bigger than three hundred thousand galleons," said Lockhart.

"Three…three…hundred. . thousand… gal.. galleons, " said Quirinus with his eyes wide as saucers.

"Hmph," said Severus doing his intimidating hair whiplash move.

"What did most people bet on?" asked Remus.

"Slytherin, of course, "said Lockhart nonchalantly.

Severus gave a smug look to Remus.

Severus did his whiplash move as he moved towards the door and was about to make his robes flow when he heard Lockhart.

"Is something wrong with his neck?" asked Lockhart.

"I… I don't think so," stuttered Remus.

Then again, there was unexpected Quirinus who snorted with laughter. However, a glare from Severus shut him down. The four made their way to the Great Hall.

Severus was now making his robes flow, walking towards the Great Hall. Apparently, Lockhart couldn't keep his mouth shut again.

"What fabric are your robes made of?" asked Lockhart again.

He saw Remus and Quirinus instantly distancing themselves from him and Lockhart, and becoming extremely interested in the painting of dancing trolls.

"I might order one for myself but in blue color. I like the way they flow," continued Lockhart.

He glared at Lockhart but Lockhart seemed to have quite a thick skin. Lockhart walked away towards the Great Hall, leaving Severus standing on the spot.

 _This year I am going to be tormented by Lockhart…_

"Now that you both have learned dancing from your ancestors, maybe we can go to the Great Hall, "glowered Severus.

"Oh, yes," said Remus trying to sound casual but failing.

Now they were sitting on the teachers table. Snape had decided to make few more moves since his current ones did not intimidate Lockhart.

As he was thinking of moves, he heard some racket at the entrance of the Great Hall. Everybody in hall silenced himself or herself to hear what was going on. He saw that all the first years were soaking wet except for one. Severus sneered.

He heard the dry kid's voice, "Before directing that accusing glare at me how about you ask Mr. Hagrid as to why my boat didn't join the crashing party in the middle of lake, Professor..was it Mona, Meena or…Minnie. "

Then the kid smiled like the most innocent person in the world. He saw that Remus had covered his mouth with his hand. All other teachers at the table were surprised at seeing the boy even the Headmaster.

"He looks just like Sirius Black, "words everyone was thinking, escaped Quirinus' mouth.

How did Quirinus know what kid Sirius Black looked like was a mystery to him?

 _Oh well, they haven't seen him before like me or Remus. He is exact copy of that annoying Sirius Black. It was this kid's words that made me snap out of the trance, I was living in…_

"It's Professor Mcgonagall. Hagrid, explain, "said Minerva in a stern voice.

"This kid's boat was behind others as he was feeding the Giant Squid, " said Hagrid.

Minerva made the first years follow them, forgetting about drying them.

Severus saw that male students were looking at Sirius with either fear or anger, except for the Slytherin who seemed quite excited. Fear was the most common. Few Gryffindors like Potter were angry. Well, females were another case. They were shamelessly ogling him.

 _It is literally like having Sirius Black again._

As the hat was about to begin it's song, voice of another boy interrupted it. Severus didn't know if hat could look confused but was sure, it was.

"He must have used Dark Arts to control the Squid, must have learned them from You Know Who directly," said Albus Pettigrew venomously.

Sirius Black glared at the boy and Severus saw the heir of Pettigrew family step back. Before other teachers could intervene, "Shut up, boy," was a loud voice of Quirinus Quirrell. Everybody looked at him with incredulous expression.

Headmaster looked at Quirinus, surprised and then looked at Minerva, " Let the hat continue it's song and we can start the sorting. "

He saw Sirius Black looking strangely at Quirinus for a second or two. Albus Pettigrew was stunned. Severus was sure that his father must have told him that Quirinus will take special care of him.

Well, the song finished and the sorting started.

Finally the sorting, everyone, was waiting for came as Minerva said,"Black, Sirius."

Even Minerva's voice sounded excited.

Lockhart stood up and gave thumps up to Sirius saying, "Good Luck and remember Hufflepuff. "

Sirius smiled at Lockhart and then smirked, when he looked towards the Hufflepuff table. Severus saw that they were terrified of the prospect of having the Black there.

Severus smiled evilly.

It had been five minutes since the kid sat wearing the hat on the stool. Five stretched to ten and finally the hat announced the house.

" **Ravenclaw"**

There was a pin drop silence for a minute or two.

Severus suddenly stood up, shouting, "What?"

Remus had the same reaction and said," Come on."

Quirinus banged his fist on the table, shaking his head.

Filius Flitwick let out a winning ''whoops'.

Severus was wondering what was more baffling for the students, the sorting result or strange reactions from the teachers ' table. Sirius Black, too, looked surprised at teachers.

Finally, when the Slytherin students banged their fists on the table, saying 'oh no' or 'how could that happen ', he was sure he even heard one student say 'we are doomed'. Headmaster cleared his throat. Minerva asked Sirius to go to his house table.

Nobody at the Ravenclaw table were cheering on getting Sirius Black. He remembered the same reaction when the other Sirius Black was sorted into Gryffindor. At that moment, Filius stood on his chair and started clapping. Remus, too, smiled and did the same. Well, Lockhart was the loudest when he started the next. Finally, some Ravenclaws followed the example of their Head of House.

Severus noted that kid was not at all disturbed by the reaction of other Ravenclaws. He just didn't care. He had a look that said,' I am bored.' He was twirling his wand in his hand. Suddenly, there was that smirk again and Severus was sure that Sirius Black was up to no good.

Then came the most anticipated sorting from students' perspective. The teachers, except a few like Dumbledore, Minerva, Vector or Pomona, were not interested in this sorting.

Severus saw the smile on Pettigrew's face falter, when their eyes met. Severus smiled more maliciously.

Then again after five minutes the hat said, " Gryffindor. "

He saw Weasley twins shouting, " We got Pettigrew, We got Pettigrew. "

Severus snorted," A lot of good that will do."

Then, at once, some girl shouted from the Gryffindor table.

 _Seriously, these school girls. What do they eat to make their voices so shrill?_

He saw that Albus Pettigrew was changing into a human sized rat. Eyes of all the teachers except Lockhart glanced towards Sirius Black, who literally looked like the most beautiful and innocent being on the planet. Severus, however, was pondering over the fact that this first year kid, successfully and efficiently mixed a time delay spell with high-level transfiguration spell. Many wizards even after their N.E. couldn't do that properly. Quirinus was having a hard time controlling his laughter. Slytherins were already laughing.

 _Quirinus has changed. What is wrong with him? Wasn't he suppose to take 'special care' of Pettigrew?_

Remus had a wide grin, which he wasn't bothering to hide this time.

Albus Dumbledore stood up and reverted him to his normal state. Finally, the sorting ended and the dinner started. He saw that after finishing his dinner, Sirius Black stood up from his table and walked towards the Slytherin table. There he greeted everyone. Many stood up to shake his hand and some like Malfoy, Zabini and Lestrange even gave him a half hug. The Slytherins were somewhat intimidated by the Black.

He saw that Dumbledore was somewhat alarmed on seeing this. Again, for some unknown reason, Quirinus looked quite happy. Even he was astonished when Crabbe and Goyle, who were sitting on opposite side, left their dinner and crossed over to greet Sirius Black. Some girls in Slytherin were crying. Sirius Black moved towards Millicent Bulstrode, lowered his head, and said something that all near her could hear. Whatever, he said, made the Slytherin table laugh and look at Lockhart. Lockhart on seeing the attention flashed his teeth and winked at them, which brought giggles from the girls and snickers from the boys.

Quirinus asked Lockhart, "Are…are….al.. all… of…..of…the them, his f….friends? "

Severus saw that everybody was waiting for Lockhart 's response with rapt attention.

"No, they aren't. In fact, most of them are his cousins, " said Lockhart.

"But the way he is greeting them…."Quirinus trailed off.

"He always greets them like this and then pranks them. I think I am his only friend, "Lockhart finished the sentence with dreamy voice.

Everybody gave a disbelieving look to Lockhart.

Next day at breakfast, Severus saw Pettigrew, Potter, Weasley doing something to the bench of Ravenclaw where Sirius Black sat last night. Other Ravenclaws did not object and just avoided that bench. Minerva and Headmaster were not at the table but all other teachers were.

Vector asked Filius, "Aren't you going to do anything about it? That is your House table?"

Filius replied dismissively, "Oh! He is the first Black Ravenclaw. I think he can handle it. "

Severus asked Remus if he would show his empathetic side.

By now, Minerva and Headmaster along with Hagrid had joined the table.

Remus replied, " That kid grew up pranking Moody despite his constant vigilance, it's the ones trying to prank him, I would be worried about. "

Quirinus again looked happy.

 _I need to check if someone has put Imperius curse on Quirinus._

Then he saw Sirius Black walk towards the Ravenclaw table, when his eyes fell on bench, the kid smirked. He avoided the bench and sat with a girl with dirty-blonde hair, with a strange flourish of his hand. Suddenly, there was an outcry from Gryffindor table, all the food had vanished. He saw Sirius Black ignoring everything and eating his breakfast.

 _This kid is way above first year. Then again, so was his uncle._

"So you think a prank war will start," said Remus in a chirpy voice.

Severus gave him a creepy smile and said," That only means that I can hand out more detentions."

Minerva gave both of them a hard look and got up.

"Let's bet on who will win." Said Remus.

Severus was sure that Lockhart has awakened a dark side of werewolf, the gambler werewolf. He could imagine the werewolf sitting in a casino, with some bimbo on his side.

Minerva walked towards the Gryffindor table.

Albus Pettigrew got up and said angrily, "This is Sirius Black's fault. "

Severus was certain that it was Sirius Black's doing but even he hadn't seen the kid cast the spell unless that strange flourish of hand….

 _Wait did he cast a non-verbal spell. Maybe, he mumbled it. Of course, he mumbles it; no matter how many charms he know, eleven-year kid won't be able to do non-verbal spells._

His thoughts were interrupted again by Quirinus doppelganger who said," That.. That…boy is…is…get.. getting on my… my nerves. "

Remus replied, "Weren't you suppose to take special care of him?"

Quirinus looked startled but recovered quickly, "Like…hell….I…. will.. "

Minerva was now asking Sirius Black who appeared clueless.

Ravenclaw Prefect got up and said to Minerva, "Professor Mcgonagall, why don't you sit on that bench where Pettigrew, Potter and Weasley were putting sticking charms and frog spawn before making it invisible? "

Filius, by now, has joined them," Minerva, If what my prefect is telling is true, I would be forced to take points from Gryffindor. "

Minerva did few spells and checked the bench.

"You don't need to, Filius. Fifty points from Gryffindor and Mr. Pettigrew, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, you will be serving detention with Professor Snape tonight," said Minerva ignoring the horrified looks on the three students.

Severus, however, looked extremely happy. He had even perfected new intimidating move 'sudden twist turn with a half glare.'

He saw Remus looking at his jovial expression and shaking his head. After this was owl time. The Black kid got around fifteen owls and there was a pile of presents on the table beside him. Someone had even sent the kid a bottle of Odgen Finest Firewhisky, which Lockhart confiscated, happily.

The first detention went well. He made them pick frogspawn that was covering the entire Quidditch field with their hands. He told them that since they like Quidditch so much, they should properly clean it. Nobody knew how Quidditch field was suddenly covered with the frogspawn, well except Severus since he did it. As usual, he got an angry letter from Lily.

Today was the first potions lesson of the first years. He couldn't believe his luck that Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had potions together. It was time for tribulation of Sirius Black and Albus Pettigrew.

He entered in his usual way and delivered the same foolish wand-waving speech. Then he gave a contemptuous smile to Pettigrew who visibly flinched. He passed the same smile to Black but the kid had the gall to smirk at him. He then started asking questions. To his great pleasure, Pettigrew couldn't answer any and he happily deducted 2 points for each question, even giving him detention but to his utter dismay, Black answered every question correctly and well, he didn't give him any points or detention. Then, he asked them to prepare the potion.

After half an hour, Black came to him telling him that his potion is complete. When Severus told him that it takes one hour, he told him," Professor, if one stirs counter-clockwise three times after every five clockwise stirs and adds powdered goat bones, the potion takes half the time and even quality isn't effected."

Severus was slightly surprised but hid it well and asked him to bring a vial of his potion for him to test. He, himself, found such shortcuts. The Potion was perfect.

"Where did you learn that?" asked Severus awarding him grade for the class which was extremely conflicting task for him; because the potioneer in him wanted to award the best grade while the professor in him didn't want to do that, the potioneer won in the end.

 _Oh well, you win some, you lose some._

"I heard my grandmother telling her friend, Augusta Longbottom, Professor, "said Sirius Black with a smile.

Severus flinched.

 _Nobody knows about my infatuation with Augusta Longbottom's eyes. My occlumency shields are still up. Does this kid know? I need to control my emotions._

Severus, then, replied with hmmm and asked him to go back to his seat but suddenly all the cauldrons in the classroom exploded. Everybody was covered with strange glittery pink goo well except for Sirius Black who hid behind him.

He wiped the goo from his face and turned around giving murderous glare to the Black.

Sirius Black gave him an innocent smile and said," Thanks for saving my life, Professor. "

Since, he didn't have any proof, he had to let the troublemaker go. He, along with first year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, spent next two days glittering in pink color. Remus, Quirinus and Lockhart were unbearable. He had even heard some students call him 'Professor Pinky'.

This had not been the sole incident of exploding cauldrons. And let's just say, 'The PPW(Potter, Pettigrew, Weasley)' were being thoroughly defeated in the prank war by 'The Marauder'. Titles bestowed upon them by 'the gambler werewolf ' so that it was easy to bet. It was as if Remus was running some kind of illegal fighting ring, where people bet on who will win the fight but replace the word fight with 'prank'. Thus, 'Bookie Remus' was running the 'illegal pranking ring'. Well, the only time Severus didn't mind the pranking was when Sirius Black completely dismantled the Chosen One from his mantle on the Peter's Day.

He had successfully given multiple detentions to Pettigrew and Potter but somehow, Black turned out to be as slippery as a snake. Even when he knew, that Black was the culprit, he just couldn't prove it.

In the meantime, some dolt had the epiphany to open the chamber of Secrets and Mrs. Norris was petrified.

Gambler Werewolf rose to new heights as Remus and Lockhart formed a dueling club, betting on which student will win the duel. This led to 'Dueling Championship ' in which each teacher including Headmaster will choose one student and train him. At the end of year, championship would be held. Teachers were free to choose whoever they wanted as long as students provided the permissions slip signed by their parents. Lockhart got Lucius Malfoy involved and suddenly the championship, much to chagrin of Severus and much to delight of gambler werewolf, became a very high stake play. He was cent percent sure that Lockhart was a very bad influence on Remus. He brought out his dark side that even Marauders could not.

Lockhart well, let's just say, was Lockhart. However, Lockhart had one thing that no other teacher had. Lockhart was exempt from the pranks of Sirius Black due to one Dorcas Meadows. Why an intelligent woman like her was dating Lockhart was baffling but Severus, for a long time, had stopped trying to understand the mind of female species. One good thing that was happening because of Lockhart was that on Valentine's Day, Lockhart had promised to Pomona that he would bring the famous romance novelist Bronte Charles. Severus was a huge fan of his romance novels and that was truly a skeleton in his closet. Nobody knew that he had a secret drawer in his living quarters in which he had all the novels written by the said author. The tragic, tear-jerking, bodice ripper novels by Bronte Charles were his companion at nights. He would never admit to anyone that he actually cried while reading those novels. Nobody knew who Bronte Charles was, since it was a pen name so Severus was having a hard time concealing his excitement on meeting his 'Hero'.

He had been extremely envious that morning and he wasn't the only one, almost all the girls, half the boys and Pomona were feeling the same.

During breakfast, Lockhart walked over to Sirius Black, holding a package.

Lockhart said," I have a special gift for my favorite boy. Here is the set of all the novels written by Bronte Charles and signed by him especially for you. See, they even say 'To Dearest Sirius Black'. "

He had heard the sounds of many spoons and forks dropping. There were multiple gasps. The whole Great Hall had gone silent.

"What am I supposed to do with them?, " said Sirius Black observing strange reactions of the people.

"You should read the books, it will help you grow up," said Lockhart winking at the boy.

Sirius Black picked up one book, read the title and looked incredulously at Lockhart saying, " How is a book called 'The Adultery of Veronica' suppose to help me grow up? "

The boy's attitude severely offended Severus. The boy just didn't realize that he was holding a treasure and many would die to get their hands on those books. The author who never showed his face in public signed the books and very few people had his autographs. Besides, The Adultery of Veronica was a classic.

Then there was Quirinus. He had checked but he wasn't under Imperius curse. Quirinus, sometimes, was giggling like a girl, while sometimes Severus found him talking to himself.

Now, he was sitting in the Great Hall eating dinner, thinking whom should he train. Because no matter what he said, he wanted to win.

Despite having a petrified cat, students and teachers were quite excited about the Dueling Championship. Nonetheless, Bookie Remus was excited for an entirely different reason.

 _Only if Sirius Black was a little older and well, if I was on good terms with his parents…..I would have trained him while persecuting him at the same time…_

Severus knew after teaching a variety of students that some of the most talented students ever to grace Hogwarts were from the year he attended Hogwarts. Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Lily Evans, Alice Cooper, Dorcas Meadows, Marlene McKinnon and Severus Snape were really best of the best.

 _Well, let's forget the fact that all of us had attitude issues._

This generation, however, lacked the spark that they had, well, except for one first year kid, Sirius Black.

Finally, his eyes stopped on one fifth year student, Romeo.

 _Yes, Romeo. I will train Romeo Lestrange. At least, if he is losing, he will drop the wand and go punch his opponent._

-()/++)(-;:_(/+/'-; ))#(()/

 **TOM RIDDLE POV**

Tom and Quirrell were sitting in the Forbidden forest again, beside a dead unicorn. Tom transfigured the dead unicorn so no one would know about this heinous acts. They had to resort to this measure again due to their failure in acquiring the philosopher's stone and then their disastrous trip to the 'lost library of Alexandria'.

Disastrous doesn't even qualify, for people who successfully infiltrated the most secure buildings in the world like Gringotts and Hogwarts; they failed to steal the books from some library. It was downright humiliating. The trip actually started quite pleasantly. They reached Alexandria, enjoyed the local delicacies, which in case of Quirrell was Kushar, a mix of stewed rice, chickpeas, lentils and pasta; and in Tom's case was the blood of a black unicorn only found in Egypt. They even went sightseeing which was mainly because they got lost while trying to find the 'lost library of Alexandria'. The library was huge, almost the same size as Hogwarts.

They found some very promising texts that could restore him to his former glory. However, instead of copying the texts, they decided it would be easier if they stole the books. After all, for the wizard of cosmic proportions like him, stealing books from one inconsequential library should be a piece of cake but that library turned out to be anything but inconsequential. They removed all the spells from the books but one concealed ancient rune from the time of pharaohs turned out to be their undoing. They were happily leaving the library that the rune activated and the 'Shurtas' – the Arabic Aurors, captured them. If that wasn't mortifying enough, it was the fact that the judge thought they were 'cute' for at least trying something that was tried by someone as half-witted as them around seven hundred years ago. They were banned from the library forever and sentenced to one month in prison, which would be reduced if someone from Britain brought their release papers. Thus, they sent an owl to Dumbledore.

The prison named 'Qaid' was actually very nice as compared to Azkaban. Some of the prisoners looked like they were enjoying the vacation rather than being punished for their crimes. When Quirrell inquired about it, a guard told him that they were in minimum security risk section of prison. There were seven sections and the seventh section could make Azkaban look like holiday destination. Everything was going well until the prisoner in the opposite cell complained about smell of rotten garbage coming from their cell. The guards checked and found that the smell was coming from the turban. The guards then gave Quirrell warning to shampoo his head and wash his turban or they will shift him into section three where a sadist minotaur enjoyed torturing prisoners. The shampooing turned out to be a very tormenting experience. Tom felt multiple times like he would drown. Finally, the Gentle Werewolf and the Sneering Severus delivered their release papers.

After returning, they had a run in with the Chosen One in the Diagon Alley who had the audacity to ask Quirrell to take care of his son. But the other piece of information about Black's kid being interested in the Dark Arts made Tom very happy until he heard the name of the boy.

 _Nobody likes to have a kid running around with the same name as his or her nemesis even if that nemesis is dead._

Not to mention the fact that Regulus Black saw them eating together and well ignored them like they were ants.

Tom was curious about the new DADA Professor since he was quite famous so they bought all the books of Lockhart and read them. After reading the books it was evident that they needed to stay away from this guy but after meeting him, Tom wondered if Dumbledore even wanted the students to learn any defense against the Dark Arts. His one questionable assignment to another made him sometimes ponder if Dumbledore wanted to have untrained wizards whom he could easily manipulate. Being in class with the students, it was obvious that if trained properly, these kids could be formidable. Ok, they weren't exceptional or adept in ways of Magic like Sirius Black, Severus Snape, Bellatrix Lestrange or Regulus Black; but some of them were at least better than the Chosen One. Well, the lesser trained they were, the better it was for Tom in the future.

On the night of sorting, he saw that the kid wasn't only named after his nemesis but even looked exactly like him. He had met little Sirius Black, his nemesis, at the wedding of Bellatrix and Rodolphus. Nevertheless, he was happy to see the kid because he could feel that this kid would do great things. Last year, he was happy to see Robert Lestrange, son of Bellatrix and Rodolphus, but that happiness was short-lived, as the boy didn't have the same potential as his mother.

He made Quirrell bet that Sirius Black would be in Slytherin. He was extremely disappointed that Sirius Black was sorted into Ravenclaw but when Tom and Quirrell saw how he greeted the future Death Eaters and how he intimidated most of them, Tom knew he had found his new 'right hand-man'. This Sirius Black would be the leader of Death Eaters, after him, of course.

His entire good mood went down the drain because of the Chosen One's son. Quirrell was having trouble controlling his emotions. Quirrell asked him in one of the Astronomy lessons if he could throw Albus Pettigrew from the tower but sadly, he couldn't give permission to Quirrell to do that. Since, Quirrell was sulking; Tom decided to open the Chamber of Secrets, which was huge success. Well, the basilisk's only victim was Mrs. Norris until now. This time, at least, people thought it was Sirius Black, who was heir of Slytherin not Albus Pettigrew.

The werewolf was always a gentle soul and sometimes, Tom questioned if he even was a dark creature. Tom, soon, got to see the 'ferocious werewolf ' when it came to betting. There was this feral gleam in the werewolf's eyes, when he was talking about or managing the finances of his 'illegal pranking ring ', term provided by Severus. The participants, however, were completely unaware that they were part of such a ring. The PPW were not able to prank 'The Marauder even a single time. Therefore, he always bet on 'The Marauder '. The ferocious gambling werewolf easily manipulated people like Hagrid, Pomona, Minerva, Trelawney, etc to bet on the PPW. His task became easier when Weasley twins joined the fray. Twins were far better than the PPW but still they weren't having any success. Unlike the hostility between the PPW and the Marauder, sometimes there was a glimpse of respect directed towards the Marauder by the Weasley twins.

Tom was certain that since the students were busy pranking each other, they won't prank the teachers. Well, he was proven wrong when in the first Astronomy lesson of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first years, the turban started to become tighter and tighter. Tom was sure he would die by asphyxiation until Quirrell, well, acted as he had fainted and someone called Pomfrey. The smirk on the face of one Sirius Black told the whole story.

In the next class, the turban caught fire. After learning their lesson that teachers weren't exempt from being pranked, Tom and Quirrell started warding the turban. At first, it was simple wards and of course, some measly first year couldn't break them but they were yet again, knocked props out from under when Sirius Black got past the wards and froze Tom along with turban. Tom was positive that this time he really would die due to hypothermia. Tom had never, before faced so many life or death situations and realized that if this kid kept pranking him, he would eventually lose this body as due to horcruxes, he was immortal. This kid was turning out to be his nemesis in a completely different way. Therefore, Quirrell told Dumbledore that he didn't want to teach Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first year students anymore since he felt his life was in danger. Dumbledore, at first, didn't agree but when Quirrell started crying ; he called Vector and Remus and asked them to teach Astronomy to the first year students of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

 _Death by prank. No, Voldemort won't be reduced to this. It was already disgraceful enough that Peter Pettigrew was the Chosen One. Well, I can forgive the kid as he took care of the Chosen One on Peter's Day._

The Dueling Club, another venture of the ferocious werewolf and Lockhart, marred the immediate success of Chamber of Secrets. Tom wanted to see Sirius Black dueling. Even if the kid was constant danger to his life, he didn't hate the kid rather admired him for his spunk and magic. The kid never took the duels seriously. Then, there was Lockhart who always interfered during the kid's duels for reasons Tom never really understood.

Lockhart and werewolf then started the nonsense of Dueling Championship. Even, Quirrell had to choose someone. Quirrell was sure that Regulus Black would never permit him to teach his son as in his days of ignorance, Quirrell had written an article titled 'the Black history of the Blacks '.

At the present, they were sitting in the Forbidden forest discussing which student they should choose.

"Dumbledore had chosen Percy the Prick. I was hoping we could 'train' him. He tried to give me some guidelines on proper behavior, "said Quirrell.

"Like Weasleys know what proper behavior is," said Tom.

"Well, Dumbledore has always favored the Gryffindors, "said Quirrell.

"How about Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom? They were supposed to be the Chosen Ones, had Sirius Black not interfered with the prophecy," said Tom.

"Let's pick Pettigrew so that we can take special care of him. But I wonder after how I have been treating him, will his parents give permission "said Quirrell.

"Well, that's a good idea since we can't kill him without raising suspicion. That kid really gets on my nerves. We can teach him some nonsense and then watch him lose in the first round. And about permission, do you really think the Chosen One would let a chance like this pass? We don't have time to waste on such trivial matters," said Tom.

" So who should we bet on? Betting before knowing the name of students would earn more profit," asked Quirrell.

"That's a stupid question. It would be none other than Severus' champion who will win, " said Tom.

"I thought the same. At least spying on Dumbledore was worth something. I thought that old geezer would be working hard as the Headmaster while all he does is eat lemon drop and sleep, " said Quirrell.

"Sleep is rather a mild term. That old pervert is using special dream potion," said Tom.

"So that's why he always has this twinkle in his eyes. By the way, I bought few novels of the author Severus is excited to meet. I didn't even notice that he was enthusiastic. You are truly marvelous, Dark Lord, " said Quirrell.

"Well, I am the Dark Lord, after all, " said Tom in a proud voice.

"Well, titles are a bit ambiguous but we can read them tonight," said Quirrell.

"What are the titles? " asked Tom wondering that they must be quite intellectual for Severus to be so enamored.

"The Blanket of Sin, The Shed We Shared, The Adultery of Veronica and The Secret Desires of Shawn, "said Quirrell.

_-##(/(-_-##(()/++)#-_#())/

 **REMUS LUPIN POV**

If Remus Lupin had thought that last year was entertaining, this year was truly a roller coaster ride. From the sorting to the Dueling Championship, he was having too much fun.

Remus was disappointed that Sirius Black was not in Gryffindor but he thought it was for the best. The Gryffindors would have treated him very badly. Ravenclaws, even though they weren't happy, wouldn't be like the Gryffindors. He remembered how his friend, Sirius Black, was taunted on every turn in the Gryffindor tower. However, unlike this Sirius Black, that Sirius Black had friends.

Whenever and wherever, he noticed the boy, Sirius Black was alone. He greeted the people, he talked to them enthusiastically but they weren't his friends. It seemed to him like Sirius Black didn't want to make any friends. Well, the Chosen One's son didn't help the matters either as he accused Sirius Black of being a dark wizard at literally every turn, which increased after Pettigrew was pranked at Peter's day by Sirius Black. The only people who didn't bother about the Chosen One's words were Slytherins, few Ravenclaws and a single Gryffindor, Neville Longbottom. He saw that Ravenclaws were gradually warming up to Sirius Black and he wasn't surprised because this Sirius Black was as infectious as his uncle. Well, the girls of Ravenclaw had not minded having him since day one.

Few times Remus gave detention to Albus Pettigrew for calling Sirius Black, a dark wizard. He scheduled the detention with Severus Snape, who was extremely happy at this. Severus Snape made sure that Pettigrew's life was full of detentions. Severus even received warning letters from the Chosen One and his wife but he didn't care. Albus Dumbledore once called Severus, Remus and Quirinus to his office to discuss the detentions.

"Gentlemen, I have received disheartening letters from parents of students. Mr. and Mrs. Pettigrew and Mrs. Weasley had written to me that you three, yes they have mentioned your names, have been giving detentions to their sons, when they don't deserve it. While they also brought light to the fact that you three have not given a single detention to Mr. Black."

Severus rolled his eyes and said,"Albus, I told you not to call for me for such trivial matters. If they don't like how we treat students, they can transfer them to other schools. "

Dumbledore replied, "They are asking for your resignation. "

This time, Quirinus replied, "Then…. Then…let's ta… take the….matter… to.. to.. Board of… of Governors. I…. wou… would…. Lik.. .Like to…see … how…. Regulus Black…. Reacts.. .wh… when… he sees…. our mem…. memories of PPW… trying to…. Bully.. .his son… calling his son…dark wizard. "

 _Ouch! Quirinus hit where it hurts._

Remus kept a blank face but Severus snorted with laughter.

Dumbledore seemed a bit angry, "Quirinus, I just want you three to be fair. You don't think I have failed to notice that you three are not particularly fond of Albus Pettigrew. Severus has given multiple detentions to Mr. Pettigrew, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley yet not a single detention to Mr. Black."

Severus said angrily, "You really think I am not intentionally giving detention to someone named Sirius Black. I give detention to everyone who doesn't give enough attention to potions or whoever is caught causing trouble by me. I don't play favorites when I am handing out detentions."

 _Well, that is actually true._

Remus said, "Albus, what do you want us to do? I would have given detention to Sirius Black, too, if he was continuously harassing Albus Pettigrew, calling him dark wizard."

Severus gave him a look that said 'I highly doubt it'.

Dumbledore said," Mr. Black seems fine, nothing like a kid who had been harassed. In fact, the pranks pulled by him, in turn harass Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Weasley."

Severus replied, "Albus, can you prove that those pranks were pulled by Mr. Black? "

Dumbledore replied, "It's a common knowledge. Everybody knows. "

Remus answered, "Everybody knows because every time something happens, Mr. Pettigrew blames Mr. Black. Shouldn't you investigate a bit, before declaring Mr. Pettigrew's words as common knowledge?"

Remus knew that everybody in the room knew that Sirius Black was, indeed, responsible for all the pranks yet nobody in the room could prove it. But it wasn't like PPW were innocent, it was just that their pranks weren't successful.

Quirinus asked," How…. many detentions…. does Mr. Pettigrew,… Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley…. and Mr. Black, even have,…. that we are discussing it?"

Dumbledore replied, "As per record, Mr. Pettigrew had 67, Mr. Potter had 45, Mr. Weasley had 46 and Sirius Black had 0, detentions till date."

Remus asked in a confused tone,"It doesn't seem like much. Sirius' and James' count would have been above hundred by now."

Dumbledore replied, "Well, unlike your friends, Remus, these kids aren't competing to break the detention record."

Severus said an irritated tone, "Albus, if there isn't any point of discussing it further, I would like to take my leave."

Dumbledore nodded and they all left.

Remus couldn't get the words 'nothing like a kid who had been harassed ', from his mind. How wrong Dumbledore was? The Blacks were just too proud to show any weakness. He wondered if Dumbledore had known about the abuse, his friend suffered at home and he had just ignored it because Padfoot looked 'nothing like a kid who had been abused.'

Remus was a mild tempered, reasonable person but for some reason that person vanished when it came to bets. Yes, he had become addicted to gambling. There was a 'rush', he felt when he gambled. He was never a manipulative person but when it came to his 'illegal pranking ring ', he easily coaxed the people to bet for the side that even the better knew, would lose. Like for Hagrid, he just pointed out that the Blacks were considered dark wizards and Hagrid would happily bet on PPW. To Minerva, he went on and on about the Gryffindor pride. His illegal pranking ring was fine in the beginning, but later due to PPW 's complete failure, things weren't going well. PPW had even tried few Marauder day pranks, which he was sure PPW knew courtesy of one James Potter, but they failed.

Then someone went ahead and opened the Chamber of Secrets. He wasn't familiar with it nor did he know about any heir of Slytherin. Well, he didn't care much about petrified Mrs. Norris either. The cat would be un-petrified by end of year. One day, he heard Lockhart talking to Filius about dueling. This gave him the idea of Dueling club where he could continue his new addiction. Therefore, he conspired with Lockhart and both of them opened the Dueling Club. His 'illegal pranking ring ' turned in to 'illegal dueling ring'.

One evening, Lockhart had a revelation about holding 'The Dueling Championship'. The rules were simple. Teachers would choose a student by Christmas holidays and submit their names. Those teachers will then train these students for two months and at the end of March, there would be a big event, which all parents will attend. No student would be allowed to use the unforgivables, Dark Arts and other forbidden or harmful spells. He already knew whom he wanted and rather, than talking to student he had directly corresponded with the parents. Moreover, he didn't care if his chosen student won or not because Remus, Lockhart and Lucius will get percentage of money pooled for bet, anyway.

All teachers were sitting in staff room along with the Headmaster. Everybody was discussing his or her own thing. Tomorrow students were leaving for Christmas Break. By now names of all students chosen by other people had been submitted except for his. He had until evening to submit the name. He saw the list.

 **Albus Dumbledore – Percy Weasley, Gryffindor**

 **Minerva Mcgonagall – Oliver Wood, Gryffindor**

 **Pomona Sprout –Cedric Diggory , Hufflepuff**

 **Filius Flitwick – Jacob Watson, Ravenclaw**

 **Severus Snape – Romeo Lestrange, Slytherin**

 **Quirinus Quirell – Albus Pettigrew, Gryffindor**

 **Silvanus Kettleburn – Marcus Flint, Slytherin**

 **Bathsheda Babbline – Rosalene Lestrange, Slytherin**

 **Septima Vector – Jeremy Stretton, Ravenclaw**

 **Gilderoy Lockhart – Robert Hugh, Hufflepuff**

 **Remus Lupin – Still pending**

Remus then joined Quirinus and Lockhart who were discussing the plot of 'The Adultery of Veronica '. Remus had borrowed the book from Quirinus after seeing so many people, excited about this author who was coming to Hogwarts on Valentine's Day.

Remus said,"I kept wondering why Veronica even got married to Rogers."

Remus saw Severus come and sit beside Lockhart.

Quirinus said,"Well,… the title says….. .adultery….. of Veronica. It won't…. be much of….. adultery if…. she isn't… married."

Lockhart said, "The scene when Rogers caught Veronica with the pastor Allen and how he reacted was good. "

Remus had an odd feeling as if Severus wanted to say something.

"Rogers was an idiot. I mean he caught her wife almost every chapter with someone. He should have left her by the end of first chapter," said Remus.

"Well, maybe this Rogers you are talking about loved Veronica "said Severus.

"Quirinus, why don't you give the book to Severus? He will understand when he reads it," said Remus.

Quirinus gave a strange look to Severus but didn't say anything.

There was a knock at the door of staff room but the four didn't bother to look who came from door and continued their discussion.

"The scene where Veronica rips her dress…" Remus was saying when a voice cut him off and all four adult wizards looked towards the source of voice. Except for Lockhart who grinned, the other three were mortified.

"Looks like it's the teachers who are getting help by reading 'The Adultery of Veronica, to grow up,' Said Sirius Black with a smirk.

Remus, Quirinus and Severus couldn't speak. Lockhart was the one who posed the question.

"Sirius, my favorite boy, did you come to see me? Do you now want to go with me to the book-signing? " asked Lockhart flashing his teeth.

Now everybody was looking at their exchange. The Headmaster looked particularly interested for some reason.

"Actually no, Professor Lockhart. I came to see Professor Lupin. Professor Lupin, here is the permission slip. My parents sent it to me," said Sirius Black and left the staff room.

"Permission slip?" asked Lockhart.

"Yes, Sirius Black is the student I have chosen to train from the Dueling Championship," said Remus with a very wide grin.

All the teachers had eyes wide as saucers.

Barely a whisper escaped Quirinus' mouth,"Really?"

Remus nodded and gave them a smirk.

He could see that Minerva and Severus recognized that smirk at once.

It was the smirk of a 'Marauder'.

 **Final List**

 **Albus Dumbledore – Percy Weasley, Gryffindor**

 **Minerva Mcgonagall – Oliver Wood, Gryffindor**

 **Pomona Sprout –Cedric Diggory , Hufflepuff**

 **Filius Flitwick – Jacob Watson, Ravenclaw**

 **Severus Snape – Romeo Lestrange, Slytherin**

 **Quirinus Quirell – Albus Pettigrew, Gryffindor**

 **Silvanus Kettleburn – Marcus Flint, Slytherin**

 **Bathsheda Babbline – Rosalene Lestrange, Slytherin**

 **Septima Vector – Jeremy Stretton, Ravenclaw**

 **Gilderoy Lockhart – Robert Hugh, Hufflepuff**

 **Remus Lupin – Sirius Black**

-_-_#-/+++)(#-_-_-##((#-_-##)/++)(#-

A/N: The reason for surprise at Sirius Black being chosen by Remus Lupin for championship is different for every teacher. They all know he is an exceptional student but not everybody wanted to train him like Severus, Quirinus and Remus.

Next Chapter : Sirius Blacks POV to all these events. Don't worry there wont be any repetition.


	7. Chapter 7

The Other World

SUMMARY:

Sirius Black son of Orion Black falls through The Veil and is reborn as Sirius Black son of Regulus Black in the other world. And well, wherever Sirius goes, Sirius is Sirius.

Author's Note: Italics are thoughts of people when story is from their POV. English is not my native language.

Thanks **nadasnape, Bastet26, Divyanshi Agarwal, Dumb Dreamer and PenguinGirl94** for reviewing and everybody who favorited or followed the story despite its shortcomings

This chapter is dedicated both to **all the people who favorited this story .**

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Thanks a lot

-….-….-…..-….-…-….

Chapter 6

 **Sirius Black POV**

Sirius decided that this was a new start. No, there were not any Marauders here but in this new life, he had a loving family. His parents wanted him to be happy, so he will be happy. He cried and shouted on the train to let go of the feelings and memories that haunted him. It was therapeutic for him. His parents have given him so much love that when he was with them, he did not care about his past life. However, now that he was alone, he needed to deal with these feelings.

It was not that his curiosity had not let him wonder about The Veil, but he just did not want to lose the family he had, even if it was an illusion created by the Veil. He had found three books on the Veil, two in the Black library and one in the Greengrass library. He had those books with him but he never read them. He was happy and he wanted to stay that way.

As soon as he got off the train, the Chosen One's son tried to trip him.

 _Trying was all this Pettigrew would do. Yes, only trying, being triumphant is an entirely different matter._

Looked like Sirius had served a blow to the ego of Rat Jr by not tripping on his completely obvious trap; thus, Rat Jr glared at him and started ranting about Sirius being a dark wizard. It was as if Rat Jr was begging Sirius to prank him. So Sirius obliged. He was the last one to the boat and luckily, the only one in that boat. He knew that the Giant Squid liked chocolate frogs. He indulged the Giant Squid with the chocolate frogs to give himself an alibi. When all boats were at a safe distance from his boat, he flipped the boats. It was so swift that no one understood, what had happened. He heard the Rat Jr screaming something like Squid would eat him.

 _I will return the favor tenfold or even hundredfold. Just try._

In the end, Hagrid concluded that the boats must have crashed due to some unknown current in the lake. Rat Jr, nevertheless, kept going on and on about the Giant Squid being a dark creature that apparently, Sirius Black could control.

 _Rat Jr, if I would control the Giant Squid, it would be thrashing you up and down the lake. Controlling something or someone, I hate it; because in my past life, all people wanted to do was 'control me'._

Sirius could see that Hagrid did not like him and considered him a dark wizard even if the said dark wizard was only eleven years old. He smirked at seeing Professor Minerva Mcgonagall. Surprise was evident in her eyes, when she saw Sirius. And when she noticed the soaking wet students, she glared at him. Sirius knew how to get under the skin of the Gryffindor Head. The Chosen One's son again accused him of being a dark wizard which was not surprising but the reaction of Quirinus Quirrell, sure was.

Sirius already knew what he wanted from the sorting hat. He just didn't know if the hat would play his game.

 _No harm trying._

When his name was called, for some inexplicable reason, Professor Mcgonagall seemed excited.

He sat on the stool and the hat was placed on his head.

" _ **Before you start your assessments, I want to make a deal with you. " - Sirius**_

 _ **Oh, this is certainly new. - Hat**_

 _ **Well I don't care which house you put me in as long as I am the only boy sorted into that house this year. I want whole room in the dormitory to myself. In exchange, I will do whatever you ask, except for killing someone. - Sirius**_

 _ **Whatever I ask, Mr. Black ? - Hat**_

 _ **Yes, it must be boring sitting in the Headmaster's Office. If you want, I will take you to any place you want to go. I don't know if you eat but I will get you whatever you want. I…I will curse or torture if you want, given it won't do permanent damage. -Sirius**_

 _ **Then, take me to the founders' graves. -Hat**_

 _ **That's all you want. I thought you would want to go to Bora Bora or you would ask me to get rid of this Headmaster. -Sirius**_

 _ **The hat snorted.**_

 _ **Fine, where are they? We can go whenever you want.-Sirius**_

 _ **They are lost. -Hat**_

 _ **Lost? Does this lost mean that nobody knows where they are? -Sirius**_

 _ **Yes. -Hat**_

 _ **Ok. I will find them just that it will take time. Hope, I can find them. -Sirius**_

 _ **You are the only one who can. -Hat**_

 _ **What does that mean? -Sirius**_

 _ **Never mind, so you don't mind if I place you in Hufflepuff. -Hat**_

 _ **No, I don't. Although Lockhart would be unbearable afterwards. -Sirius**_

 _ **Ha ha, Gilderoy Lockhart, looks like he is doing well for himself. Let me look at the students to see where you can fit. -Sirius**_

The hat has was silent. After few minutes, his patience was at its limit.

 _ **For someone who has been sorting kids for centuries, you sure are slow. -Sirius**_

 _ **You really want to be cheeky with me right now, kid? -Hat**_

 _ **No . By the way, thanks a lot for catering my selfish request. -Sirius**_

 _ **It's a deal. No need to thank me. Ok I have finally decided.-Hat**_

 _ **RAVENCLAW!**_

As usual, there was silence on his sorting but after a few long moments, Snivellus stood up and shouted followed by Remus. Quirrell banged his fist on the table, while Professor Flitwick seemed like he had won the lottery.

 _What the hell?_

The response from the Ravenclaw table was exactly what he had expected. Since, he was bored he decided to convert the Rat Jr into an actual rat. He ate dinner silently missing the company of his parents, grandparents, Twinky and Silver.

After finishing the dinner, he went to meet his childhood acquaintances. They weren't his friends but witnessing few of the events in the life of these kids had made him realize that most of these kids were just like Regulus, his brother, who wanted to please his parents. He didn't want to force them or manipulate them to choose some path. As far as he was concerned, they could become Death Eaters or they could follow Dumbledore, it didn't matter. If he wanted to be free to choose what he wanted, others should be, too. However, he wanted these Slytherin kids to know that if they ever wanted to choose some way of life that conflicted with their parents' ideals or endanger them or if they just wanted a way out, they will have Sirius to turn to. He tried his best that they knew that he would never turn them back. This didn't mean that he didn't prank them; he did every time they met.

Few years ago, while playing a prank he entered an alley of the Diagon Alley. There he saw Cormac McLaggen call Millicent Bulstrode 'an ugly bull' while his friend whispered to him that she looked more like a hag. The blonde-haired Cormac had laughed loudly. Millicent Bulstrode 's face started staining with tears. Cormac laughed more; however, his friend had the decency to look ashamed. Sirius threw Dungbombs at the two boys, after which they scurried away from there.

"Miss Bulstrode, how long are you going to cry?" asked Sirius.

Millicent was startled.

"You threw the Dungbombs? "asked Millicent.

"Do you know any other person who carries such useful items with him? "asked Sirius.

Millicent Bulstrode laughed.

"Why do you even care what those fools say about you?" said Sirius.

"You won't understand," was her short reply.

"Maybe I won't. But I do want to do something that would make you stop crying about such stupid things, " said Sirius.

"It's stupid to you because you have this perfect black hair, perfect face and beautiful eyes. Just one look at you and girls start swooning, ogling," said Millicent.

"Miss Bulstrode, I am only seven years old so I don't want to know about girls swooning or ogling. And the way you are describing me, don't tell me you are one of those girls," said Sirius raising his eyebrows a little.

"No, I prefer blonds," said Millicent Bulstrode in a very serious tone.

Sirius couldn't help laughing at that and after a while Millicent joined him.

"Why do you call me, Miss Bulstrode? " asked Millicent.

"Aren't you from the Bulstrode family? " said Sirius.

"Yes, but my name is Millicent. Miss Bulstrode makes me feel like an old lady," said Millicent.

"But Millicent is such a mouthful. How about I call you Milly?" asked Sirius.

Millicent smiled and said, "Ok."

Then Sirius dropped her off to the shop where her parents were.

Her mother had tried to push for betrothal between the two but Regulus Black strictly declined and made it clear that when his son married, it would be for love. Even Millicent Bulstrode aka Milly had refused right in front of everyone stating that Sirius was not her type. She preferred blond with a melancholic look, like the hero in the romance novel 'Vixen of Venice'. Sirius and Regulus didn't know about the novel but they couldn't control their laughter after this. Marlene and Walburgha gave them both, a reprimanding look.

Millicent had then pointed at Sirius and said, "See, he is too cheerful for my taste."

This just made Sirius laugh more.

"Milly, you are the best," said Sirius between guffaws of laughter.

Mr. and Mrs. Bulstrode had been very embarrassed but Marlene assured them that it was nothing to be ashamed of. They should be proud of their daughter for standing up for what she wanted.

Well, after that, Millicent had become acquaintance rather than unknown. It was nice to know a girl who wasn't infatuated with him, like Miss Parkinson.

When he went to greet everyone, Millicent was crying.

Sirius said to her," You can have my birthday gift if it would make you happy."

At this, almost all Slytherin table laughed. Well, Millicent had a big crush on blond Gilderoy Lockhart despite his cheerful demeanor.

After dinner, Headmaster's speech piqued Sirius' interest when he declared the third floor corridor on the right side forbidden.

 _Philosopher's stone is still here. That means Voldemort and Quirrell couldn't get the Mirror to work like last time._

Sirius decided on retrieving the philosopher's stone.

 _It would be a fun adventure!_

Sirius followed the Prefect to the Ravenclaw Tower along with other first years, even though he knew where it was.

When they reached the door, the Prefect announced, "It's a Ravenclaw tradition. The first one among the first years to answer the riddle of the eagle will get the notes to help them with all the homework that will be assigned this year."

 _Typical Ravenclaw. They could have given a crate of butterbeers, but no, the prize is notes for homework! Could they get any more boring? Looks like I will need to bring some life to this tower and it's inhabitants._

The riddle asked was

' **What has roots as nobody sees,**

 **Is taller than trees,**

 **Up, up it goes,**

 **And yet never grows.'**

Sirius waited for some other first year to answer but no one did.

"Mountain ", said Sirius.

Prefect gave a strained smile and congratulated him.

The common room was still as Sirius remembered it. It was a wide, circular room with arched windows hung with blue and bronze silks and a midnight blue carpet covered in stars, which was reflected onto the domed ceiling. The room was furnished with tables, chairs, and bookcases; and by the door leading up to the dormitories stood a tall statue of Rowena Ravenclaw made of white marble. It had an excellent view of the school grounds, including the lake, Forbidden Forest, Quidditch pitch, Herbology gardens and the surrounding mountains.

Sirius was extremely happy to have the large room all to himself. He locked and silenced the room. He opened his luggage and started setting it up. He had brought quite a few things from the home by shrinking them and putting them in his trunk. The area next to the left window was now his potions corner. He put his work desk, where he worked on wands, making or modifying prank items and few other things, near the right window. The bed had blue and bronze bedsheets and curtains.

Sirius set a few goals for the first few months in Hogwarts. Primarily was to cause as much mischief as he can without being caught. Yes, it was his goal to get no detention this year. However, next year was a different matter in which he thought he would break his own detention record.

Then, he had decided to research Voldemort 's background. He knew that Voldemort used a ritual to regain power in some graveyard but he didn't know it's location. All he knew was that Voldemort's full name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. He had decided to replace the bones of Voldemort's father with the bones of a donkey. He knew there was a record room containing files on the students, which can only be accessed via staff room. He needed to find Voldemort's file.

Besides researching about the founders as per the deal he had made with the hat, he had also decided to keep an eye on Quirrell and for that, he needed the Marauders Map. In his past life, Harry had told him that the twins found the map in their first year while going through Argus' drawer for highly dangerous items. Therefore, he needed to go through twins' stuff to check if they had it this time.

"Twinky", said Sirius.

Suddenly, his beloved house-elf appeared before him. Twinky, at once, jumped and hugged Sirius. Sirius smiled widely at his house-elf.

"Master Sirius called Twinky. Twinky is so happy. Twinky was missing Master Sirius, "said Twinky.

"I was also missing you, Twinky. Twinky, how are mom and dad? Was dad sad? Was mom crying? " asked Sirius hurriedly.

Twinky hesitated before replying, " Master Regulus and Mistress Marlene were still awake. They were in Master Sirius' room."

The answer was vague but Sirius understood.

Sirius blinked back his tears and said," I am missing them, too."

"But Twinky is happy. Master Sirius needed Twinky," said Twinky.

"Yes Twinky, I needed you to spy on the.. " Sirius started but stopped when he saw Twinky take out small sunglasses on the word 'spy' and wear them.

"Eh Twinky, what are you doing? " asked Sirius.

"Master Sirius wants Twinky to be a spy. Twinky will be best spy like in that muggle show that Twinky watched with Master Sirius, "said Twinky like it was an obvious fact.

Sirius snorted with light laughter and said," Twinky, that spy was an idiot wearing sunglasses, flaunting his body to the female muggles. As a spy, one needs to be inconspicuous. "

"Oh, so Twinky needs to be inconspicuous, "said Twinky.

"Yes Twinky. I will transfigure this book of notes that I just received, into the uniform of Hogwarts' house-elves. You will wear it and go to the dormitory of fourth year Gryffindors. There will be twins by the name of Fred and George Weasley in that dormitory. Pretend to clean the dormitory and go through their things. They have an old parchment that contains high level magic, which you might be able to detect. If not, then collect all old parchments you find there and bring them to me."

"Master Sirius is making Twinky his partner again. Twinky is so happy, "said Twinky.

"Twinky, it's ok to be excited. I need you to be very careful. If even the thought that something could go wrong reaches your mind, I want you to apparate back home instantly. " said Sirius.

"Master Sirius shouldn't worry so much. After all, Twinky was even able to replace the flask of 'constant vigilance '," said Twinky. 'Constant Vigilance' was Twinky's name for Moody.

Sirius transfigured the book of notes into a uniform.

Sirius smiled and said, " I know you are capable, Twinky. But I still want you to be careful. "

Twinky nodded taking the uniform and disappeared.

Sirius decided to wait for Twinky for an hour and then he would call her back. Meanwhile, he started writing a letter to his parents. He would ask Twinky to take it home with her and give it to his father and mother.

 _I am missing you, Dad, Mom._

Sirius finished the letter while waiting for Twinky. It had been forty minutes. Sirius was getting restless. Twinky, then, suddenly apparated in front of him. Twinky looked happy and gave him three parchments. But Sirius didn't need to check which one was map because he recognized it immediately. Whirlwind of memories hit him when he touched the map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good, " said Sirius and tapped his wand in the parchment.

Twinky was watching closely as lines began appearing on the parchment.

Sirius knelt to Twinky's level and hugged her, thanking her profusely. Twinky protested that it was her duty and Sirius didn't need to thank her.

Sirius then gave her the letter he had written for his parents and bid her goodnight.

Next morning, he retaliated against the Chosen One's son and his goons but he accidentally used the spell non-verbally. Sirius was hoping that nobody had noticed but when his eye caught Snivellus, he was sure that he was suspicious. After that, he was careful not to display such proficiency in magic in front of others. The prank war that began was interesting in the beginning. Rat Jr and his sidekicks, Potter and Weasley, even tried Marauders' pranks but they didn't know they were against the Marauder, so they were not successful. The whole Gryffindor House was now wary and proceeded extremely cautiously towards their table during meal times.

Sirius had once converted the pumpkin juice jugs near the seats occupied by Chosen Ones and his sidekicks into portkey to the Black Lake. When the three idiots along with some other students have disappeared, few teachers panicked. Minnie had asked him about the whereabouts of the students to which he had given his best clueless impression and said, " Umm,..Professor , I have no idea what you are asking me about."

Then Lockhart had come and taken Minnie away.

 _Lockhart is turning out to be more useful than I initially thought._

Three idiots had tried to give him love potion to make him fall in love with Argus Filch; a prank already done by Marauders. This had backfired as Sirius made them drink that potion instead. They had spend quite a few hours longing for Filch until Percy the Prefect caught them trying to break into the caretaker's office.

He often added different potions in the meals of all Hogwarts students and staff. Like one time, he added babbling beverage to the drinks of all students during lunchtime. The Great Hall suddenly filled with so much chatter as the potion took effect that it was like a fish-market; students babbling most ridiculous things. Next time, he succeeded in giving 'Jawbind Potion – potion that induces lockjaw' to the teachers in the morning. This resulted in self-study classes for the first period. He even succeeded in giving Pompion potion to Dumbledore, which turned the headmaster's head into pumpkin.

He, once even charmed Headmaster's chair to throw him off which resulted in a funny scene where Dumbledore kind of shot off from the chair like a firework. Sirius even transfigured all the spoons, forks and knives in the Great Hall into snakes. People blamed the Slytherins for the said prank but few of the teachers looked at Sirius.

One day, Sirius placed sticking charms on multiple corridors and conspired with Peeves, too. In the morning, there were multiple students stuck on different corridors with Peeves throwing water balloons at them.

A day before Peter's Day, Hogwarts was being decorated with the banners of Gryffindor and Peter. Wherever one turned in the Great Hall, a picture of Peter Pettigrew smiling or winking or in some ridiculous pose was present. It irked Sirius to no end to see the Rat everywhere. Sirius also noticed that he wasn't the only one. Lockhart, Quirrell and Remus weren't too happy about it either.

A special stage with a throne like chair had been prepared for the Chosen One. Rat Jr could be seen boasting to anyone and everyone who would listen to him. Many students from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were asking Rat Jr if he could get them autograph of the Rat Sr. Few Ravenclaws were among the crowd, too. The only house completely indifferent to all these events was Slytherin.

The traitor was supposed to come to Hogwarts in the evening, give some speech, eat dinner and then give autographs to the students. At breakfast, Sirius could hear many students telling each other, how Rat Sr had defeated two of the darkest wizards ever to exist, You-know-who and his right-hand man, Black. Sirius decided to give his ex-friend a special welcome. Just the thought of it made him smirk.

Luna looked at him and said, "Sirius, all the nargles surrounding you have disappeared. "

Sirius laughed and left.

The evening came. Rat Sr entered the hall wearing expensive robes and lots of glamour charms. Few journalists and photographers were accompanying him. Rita Skeeter was one of them. Students of the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and many of the Ravenclaw stood up and clapped. All teachers except Remus, Snivellus, Lockhart and Quirrell, got up and shook hands with the Chosen One. Rat Sr looked at the teachers who didn't get up to meet him, his eyes lingering at Remus for a longer time.

Remus ignored him and started talking to Snivellus.

Rat Sr then went to the Gryffindor table to meet his son. Sirius heard clicking of multiple cameras. The newspapers, apparently wanted pictures of the Chosen One with his son. Chosen One then sat down on his throne like chair talking to Dumbledore and drinking pumpkin juice. Just then a bouquet of flowers was delivered to the Chosen One. Chosen One happily looked at flowers. As soon as he read the card accompanying the flowers, his face turned ash-white with panic. And like a rat that he was, he started fidgeting, trying to find someone in the crowd.

Sirius' eyes met his and Sirius smirked. Sirius knew what was written in the note since he had sent it.

 **Are you sure you should be drinking pumpkin juice laced with Veritaserum in front of so many people?**

Sirius, of course hadn't put Veritaserum in it. Pettigrew got up suddenly or tried to, atleast but instead his robes tore from the back side leaving it exposed. Cameras were clicking once again and Rat Sr was red with anger or shame, Sirius couldn't decipher. Well, Sirius did put a permanent sticking charm on the throne like seat in the morning.

Slytherin table roared with laughter. Snivellus seemed genuinely happy which Sirius didn't think was possible. Remus had a wide grin and Quirrell was clapping.

Snivellus said in a loud voice, "It's a good thing Mr. Chosen One that your boxers are still intact. At least students will not be traumatized for life."

When Peter tried to say something, instead of his voice, croaks of frog came out. First, Peter looked angrily at Remus and Snivellus and then turned around to glare at Sirius. Dumbledore conjured some new robes and gave them to him. The students who were cheering for the Chosen One few minutes ago, were mortified right now.

Madam Pomfrey gave him a potion to restore his voice. He whispered something in Madam Pomfrey's ear which made the mediwitch look at him strangely but after few seconds she nodded and came back with a vial of potion. Sirius knew that it was an antidote of Veritaserum.

Even though Sirius was the culprit behind all that was going on, Sirius saw Dumbledore giving a reprimanding look to Remus and Snivellus. Sirius saw the rat relax. After Dumbledore made everybody in the Great Hall quiet, Peter moved to the podium to give his speech. Just as he was about to speak, Sirius forced him into his animagus form with a spell 'Animago Transformo'. Multiple people gasped thinking that the Chosen One had disappeared. Peter turned back into his human form and he seemed furious. However, Dumbledore clapped and thanked the Chosen One for showing them the animagus transformation. Peter calmed down and was about to make speech again that a similar spell hit him again. Now along with Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs , too, were laughing. Weasley twins and their friend Lee Jordan, too were laughing.

Peter changed into human and banged his hand on the podium. He was loudly complaining to Dumbledore about how guests were being treated in Hogwarts. The journalists who were never loyal to anyone but the next big scoop were running their quills and asking the photographers for better angle.

Great Hall was now again waiting for the speech. Peter once again tried to look confident and start the speech. Sirius this time casted an illusion spell on Peter that made him see The Dark Mark. Great Hall was enveloped with Peter's scream. Peter's face was marred with fear and he, well, fainted. Madam Pomfrey gave him a restorative potion and calming draught.

Peter finally calmed down after half an hour. Students, even few of the Gryffindors were trying their hardest to mask their grins. Albus Pettigrew was seething and his friends looked angry.

Peter once again stood to give his speech. This time Sirius got up and walked towards the podium. He could feel all eyes on him. He looked directly into Peter's eyes and saw the rat flinch.

Professor Flitwick said," Sirius? "

Sirius replied, "Professor, I am leaving. You don't expect me to celebrate the death of my uncle. "

Professor Flitwick nodded. Dumbledore looked disapprovingly at Professor Flitwick but was ignored.

Sirius words turned on some kind of switch. Sirius saw that all the Slytherins leave their table and stand behind him.

Romeo Lestrange said," Professor Snape ,we would like to leave, too. We don't have any desire to celebrate the death of our cousin either."

Sirius turned around and looked at them.

 _Wow, now that I think about it they all are my relatives. Even if most of them are quite distant relatives._

Professor Snape got up and said," Very well, I will escort my house to the dungeon. Headmaster, kindly send their dinner in the Slytherin common room."

Peter said angrily ,"It's compulsory for students to attend festivities at Hogwarts and so is taking meals in the Great Hall. "

Sirius looked towards Romeo and said," Don't worry about dinner. Just tell me headcount and Aunt Dorcas will had it delivered. "

Instead of Romeo, Snivellus replied, " There is no need for that as there is no rule stating that attending festivities is compulsory. As far as dinner is concerned, Slytherins can arrange it themselves or even go one night without a meal. Don't interfere with my house, Black."

Sirius just looked at him and smirked. Snivellus asked his house to follow him and they were gone.

Half of the Ravenclaws did the same. Luna came up to him and smiled at him. Sirius returned the smile and winked at her. Luna had seen Sirius placing charms here and there in the Great Hall and was aware that Sirius was pranking the Chosen One.

Sirius snapped his fingers, all the Gryffindor banners changed to Hufflepuff and all the Rat Sr posters were replaced with Lockhart's. Lockhart was suddenly delighted. Apparently, he had been sour about the whole affair because someone else other than him was getting more attention.

Hufflepuffs laughed and started clapping.

But what got everybody's attention was a scream of woman, that came from the stage. Everybody looked towards the stage to find that the Chosen One had changed from Peter to Petra. Yes, he had changed into a woman.

Students and teachers were quiet for a second. Even journalists' pen and photographers' cameras were silent. Then sound of multiple laughters, gasps, chuckles, groans and exclamations filled the Great Hall. And let's not forget the sounds of quills and camera clicks.

Peter finally lost his mind and pointed his wand at Sirius.

Peter shouted angrily, " You should die just like that arrogant uncle of yours. "

Then there was a sound of crunch. Remus had punched the Chosen One and broken his nose.

Remus turned to Headmaster and said," I will escort these Ravenclaws back to their tower. Today is a day of mourning for me, too. I lost my best friend. "

The expression of shock and fear on the face of the Chosen One was priceless. Sirius knew that Peter was afraid to continue any kind of confrontation with the werewolf. Yes, Remus was gentle and thoughtful most of the time. But Sirius and Remus shared one trait that when they got mad, even Dumbledore would have a hard time getting out of the skirmish against them unscathed.

 _It's nice to see that Moony hasn't lost his touch this time around. In the past life, Remus had changed and become a mere shadow of what he really was. Well, we both had…_

Instead of Headmaster, Minnie told Remus to go ahead.

Well, Peter's Day was successfully cancelled and the newspapers had a field day. Rita Skeeter was holding some sort of grudge against the Chosen One, too. She had written a juicy article going on about the Chosen One trying to hurt a little boy accompanied by picture of female Peter pointing his wand at Sirius.

 _ **From The Chosen One to The Child Abuser**_

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _Peter's Day had been celebrated to honor the the Chosen One, Peter Pettigrew, for a decade now. But the man who supposedly defeated The Dark Lord tried to hurt the heir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. It is pertinent to mention here that the said heir is only eleven years old…. …_

Sirius saw front page of the Daily Prophet. It had multiple pictures; Peter getting up suddenly and losing his robes from the back, Peter turning in to a rat, Banners and pictures changing, Sirius walking up to the stage, Peter turning into a woman, Peter pointing his wand at Sirius, Remus punching the Chosen One.

Sirius received angry letters from his mother and grandmother while complimenting letters from his father, Narcissa and Bellatrix.

His father told him in a letter after few days that Mrs. Chosen One had launched a complaint against Remus and Snivellus to the Board of Governors that they were responsible for all the fiasco on the Peter's Day. However, Regulus had launched a complaint against Hogwarts for celebrating such a controversial thing and against the Chosen One that he tried to attack his son. Regulus even filed complaint in the Ministry against the Chosen One.

Lucius Malfoy finally had the Minister Fudge on his beck and call due to numerous 'funds', he provided to the Ministry. Well, the complaint against Remus and Snivellus had been dismissed, whereas complaint against the Hogwarts and the Chosen One had been discussed.

The verdict had been delivered to the Hogwarts and the Chosen One. Hogwarts would no longer celebrate the Peter's Day whereas the Chosen One was not allowed to visit Hogwarts anymore except under special circumstances. The Minister had transferred the Chosen One to the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. It was kind of demotion as it had derailed the Chosen One from his goal of becoming the Minister.

This had made Sirius realize once again, the true power held by the pureblood families like Blacks and Malfoys.

The next **full** moon , Sirius decided to go after the philosopher's stone armed with a harmonica and his broomstick along with Quirrell's wand. He had given severe boils to Quirrell who was now recovering in the infirmary. He had made sure that those terrible boils were especially concentrated under the turban. Then, he had stolen Quirrell's wand. He charmed the harmonica to pass the three headed dog named Fluffy. Then he dealt with the Devil's Snare. After which he played seeker to catch the key to the door to the next obstacle. He played chess with the Mcgonagall's transfigured chess and then knocked out the mountain troll. Finally, he was in front of the Mirror after passing through Snivellus' obstacle.

 _Why did Snivellus leave the riddle? It's like Dumbledore wanted Voldemort to pass these obstacles._

Well, it didn't matter anymore as Voldemort won't be getting his hands on the philosopher's stone because the stone was now in possession of Sirius.

Well, the way back was easy. He went to his dormitory first after checking the Marauder's Map. He had made a special box to contain the stone. After securing the stone, he went to the infirmary to drop Quirrell's wand.

He decided to experiment with the philosopher's stone for the next few weeks. So he made a replica of his wand and along with the usual core substances he added a little bit of philosopher's stone. He thought to cast some spell to check it out. He opened the window. It was a cloudy day. He casted a wind spell pointing towards the sky thinking there would be a gust of wind mildly stronger than the usual and that would be it. Rather than that, Sirius got the wind so powerful that it broke through the clouds.

 _What the…. Now this wasn't what I was expecting.._

Sirius dismantled the wand immediately seeing the results of his experiment because he knew existence of such a powerful wand would only bring unnecessary bloodshed like the Death Stick or the Elder Wand.

One day, Sirius saw the notice of try-outs for Chaser for Quidditch team in the Ravenclaw Common Room. He wasn't a fanatic like others when it came to Quidditch but he knew his father wanted him to be in the team; even if his father never really mentioned it. Therefore, he decided to give it a try because he loved flying. He didn't have any specific position in mind since he played any role depending on his mood.

When he went to the pitch, one of the older Ravenclaws, already in beaters uniform tried to dissuade him by telling that first years aren't allowed to play.

To which he replied, "If Gryffindor can have a first year as seeker, why can't Ravenclaw have a first year as a Chaser?"

"Now that's the spirit we are looking for, aren't we Mark?" said another beater from behind.

That beater turned out to be the Captain of the Quidditch team. His name was Jacob Watson. The other beater was Mark Bradley.

Sirius had always been an excellent flyer. Hence, he easily won the position. The Captain was extremely happy and announced that this year Ravenclaw might win the Quidditch Cup, which they had not managed in the last hundred years. Seeing his superb skills, the other players who were initially mocking him or were angry with him, became friendly. The other two Chasers, Roger Davies and Jeremy Stretton, asked him to keep some time open for formulating 'Chaser Strategies And Plays' every Friday or Saturday. The seeker, Cho Chang, kept smiling extra sweetly at him during all this time.

Jacob, on seeing that said to Sirius ," If all female players keep their eyes on you rather than the balls, it would be quite easy to play."

All players laughed.

"Maybe you can spend few extra minutes getting ready before every match," said Mark thoughtfully.

Sirius replied mock-glaring at them, "Do you really want someone like Lockhart on team?"

Everybody laughed again.

Sirius suggested having a party in the Ravenclaw Common Room on the formation of new Quidditch team. Few were in while few were reluctant.

" What if I can get food from Aunt Dorcas' restaurant? " said Sirius trying to get rid of the reluctance. Everybody in the wizarding world knew that the food from that restaurant was out of this world.

" Will you be able to get enough for whole Ravenclaw tower or is this party only for the Quidditch team, " asked Jacob.

He liked Jacob's straight forward attitude.

" Of course, for all the Ravenclaws. Just spread the word. Ask them not to go for dinner," said Sirius smirking.

Jacob then took him to the staff room to tell Professor Flitwick about the new Chaser. When they entered the staff room, the four Heads of houses along with Headmaster were discussing God knows what.

Professor Flitwick smiled and asked them if the two Ravenclaws needed something from him.

Jacob said happily," Yes, Sir. You told me to apprise you regarding our new Chaser. Sir, we have chosen Sirius. He is the best flyer I have ever seen."

Professor Flitwick replied, " Oh really. Sirius, it's good to have you on the team. I hope you will help Ravenclaw win the Quidditch Cup finally. "

 _One good thing about Professor Flitwick is that when you get frank with him, he doesn't bother with formalities like calling me Mr. Black ._

Minnie and Snivellus snorted at this.

Sirius specifically looked at both of them and said," Don't worry, Sir. I will do my utmost so that Ravenclaw win the Quidditch Cup. Let's just say it's about time Gryffindor and Slytherin learn how ' _Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure'"._

Then he gave them his best Marauder smirk, which made them visibly uncomfortable. Jacob laughed.

Professor Flitwick beamed with pride at him and said, "You will need a broomstick and the permission letter from your parents. "

Minnie added," Filius, you also need Headmaster 's permission for a first year to play."

Professor Flitwick smirked and replied, " Minerva, already feeling insecure? Why wouldn't Headmaster give permission? It's ok Albus, right?"

Minnie replied, " I am not feeling insecure. I was just reminding you. "

Dumbledore answered, "Yes Filius. It's ok as long as Mr. Black's parents have no objection. "

Professor Flitwick looked at Sirius.

Sirius said," Don't worry, Professor. If you remember both of my parents were Quidditch players in Hogwarts. So I am sure they won't mind. I will send them a letter at the earliest to forward you their permission letter."

Jacob said, " Really? Both your mother and father were Quidditch players? What position did they play?"

Sirius said," I will tell you later. I have to make necessary arrangements for tonight so I need to get going. You guys just take care of arrangements in the common room."

Jacob nodded and they left the staff room together.

Sirius slipped out of Hogwarts using secret passageway that lead to the Honeydukes cellar. He knew that Dorcas stayed in the Hogsmeade branch of her restaurant ever since Sirius had started attending Hogwarts. He did the disillusionment charm on himself and went out the Honeydukes shop, towards the restaurant, The Delectable Meadows. He entered the restaurant and undid the charm. He directly went towards the office.

He entered saying," Aunt Dorcas, now you have a chance to prove that you are worthy of being godmother of the Great Sirius Black. "

A male voice, he knew very well, answered, " And how is that?"

Sirius looked up and saw his father and mother standing at the entrance of kitchen connected to Dorcas' office. His mother literally ran towards him and hugged him. His father joined them after a few seconds.

"Dad, Mom. What are you doing here? " said Sirius. Sirius knew his voice sounded too cheerful.

"Shouldn't we be asking this question since first years aren't allowed in the village and today isn't the Hogsmeade weekend either," said Regulus smiling.

Sirius hugged his parents again, telling them that he was missing them.

Sirius could see that his parents were ecstatic to see him.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to escape Hogwarts, "said Dorcas coming out from the kitchen.

Sirius smirked and said," Well, I need food from your restaurant for the whole Ravenclaw tower. I wonder if you are up to the challenge. "

Marlene asked smiling," And why is that? "

Sirius replied, "Well, you are looking at the new Ravenclaw Chaser. "

Sirius could see that Regulus was especially happy to hear it. Marlene boasted that her son was a Chaser like her. Sirius asked for the permission letter. Regulus wrote permission letter right there and then.

Regulus said, handing him the letter," I will send you the fastest broomstick available by tomorrow. Last week, I met Randolph Spudmore. He has made a new broom, faster than any Nimbus. I saw the demonstration of the prototype. I know Nimbus is dominating the market right now but I have a feeling that Randolph's creation would be truly marvelous. "

Sirius wondered if his father was talking about 'Firebolt'.

Sirius asked, "What's the name of the broomstick? "

Regulus replied," Name has not been decided yet. I will ask Randolph to make one for you. And don't doubt me when I tell you that this new broomstick is truly luxurious."

Sirius grinned and thanked his father.

Dorcas interrupted," You two can talk about brooms later. Sirius, look at the menu and tell me what you want."

Sirius asked them all to help him decide. After deciding the menu, Regulus suggested him to take butterbeer for everyone. Marlene and Dorcas were busy in the kitchen along with house-elves that worked in Dorcas' restaurant.

Regulus and Sirius went to the Three Broomsticks. Rosemarta was quite happy to see them. They bought butterbeer crates. Regulus asked Rosemarta if she could deliver them to the Ravenclaw Common Room. Rosemarta told him that she usually never provided such services but for will do it this time for little Sirius. Sirius hugged her and thanked her. Rosemarta ruffled his hair and asked him to visit again.

They made their way to the restaurant. Sitting in Dorcas' office, Sirius told his father about all the pranks he had pulled. He told him about the ongoing prank war with Rat Jr and his sidekicks. When the food was prepared, Dorcas' packed it skillfully so that it was light as feather and manageable in the special bags with extension charms. Sirius meanwhile was bidding goodbye to his parents. Marlene didn't want to let him go and kissed her son. Regulus asked him to have dinner with them, next time they came to Hogsmeade. Regulus then hugged him, like his son was his oxygen.

Sirius was extremely happy when he reached the Ravenclaw tower, to find equally happy housemates. The reason , however, was different. Sirius was happy to see his parents, whereas the Ravenclaws were happy about the butterbeer crates that have been successfully delivered by Rosemarta. He decided to get some 'thank you' gift for the beautiful owner of The Three Broomsticks. The dinner party, finally brought fun and life to the Ravenclaw tower. Professor Flitwick joined them, too on invitation of Jacob. The food was mouthwatering and Professor Flitwick told Sirius that after every victory in Quidditch match, Ravenclaw would have such a party with the food from Dorcas' restaurant but he will be the one to pay for it. Sirius told him that it was all free but Professor Flitwick didn't want to hear any excuse.

After a week, Sirius was sitting with Jeremy and Rogers. They were telling him about other teams; what kind of keepers they had, how well did their beaters hit, who the best seeker was and the list goes on. Jacob and Mark, too joined them. Their explanation was very good but Sirius still thought that something was missing and then it clicked. He asked them if they knew about pensieve. Jacob and Rogers nodded and explained to Jeremy and Mark what it was. Sirius asked them if they would be willing to share their memories of matches so that he could watch. Jacob gave him a strange look. Nevertheless, all agreed that this might help them build better strategies. Rogers pointed out that pensieve was a very expensive artifact. Sirius told him not to care about such stuff. They will have pensieve by tomorrow night. Since their first match was against Hufflepuff, they agreed to watch memories of Hufflepuff matches.

Since, they didn't have anything to do, Jacob launched into story about his maternal relatives how they were still distressed about England losing something called Cricket World Cup to Pakistan earlier that year. Sirius asked him what Cricket was. Jacob explained to him that he was half-blood and few of his uncles on his mother's side play a muggle sport named Cricket professionally. Jacob told him that he became a beater because it reminded him of being a batsman in that game. He explained the general specifics of the game and told Sirius that he will invite him to a match in summer vacations.

Next day, all Quidditch team was gathered around the pensieve. Sirius had written to his father and Regulus had sent him the desired article by next evening. Sirius took out memories from the players and placed them in the pensieve. All the team had then watched the memories and strategized. Sirius, Jeremy and Rogers have even made few moves. Sirius inquired if he could keep these memories a litter longer to analyze the players. They said he could keep them as long as he wanted.

After few days, Sirius had compiled data pertaining of the Hufflepuff as well as Ravenclaw players. He had shown it to Jacob first who had been truly impressed. Sirius presented that data to the team.

"Sirius, wow. You really put a lot of work in this," said Mark.

"Well, I do want to win the Quidditch Cup," said Sirius.

"Sirius, you even recorded their approximate attention span, type of broom and their speed, how some are slower turning to right than turning to left on broom; that's lots of details. What if we give you memories of other teams, too. Would it be ok to ask you to compile such data for them?" said Jacob going through the parchments.

"Yes, I will do it," said Sirius.

Sirius had then compiled the data for all the teams and given it to Jacob in their next strategy meeting. After few weeks, Jacob asked him to walk with him to Professor Flitwick's office.

"Jacob, I have a suggestion but I don't want team members to be offended by it," said Sirius walking with Jacob.

"What is it?" asked Jacob.

"I want to buy new brooms for everybody in the team, the latest one in the Nimbus series," said Sirius.

Jacob laughed and said," Why?"

Sirius replied, "Well, look at it this way. Miss Chang is a good seeker who can easily compete with other seekers; but her broom gives her a big disadvantage."

"Let's discuss this with Professor Flitwick, too," said Jacob.

Sirius nodded in response.

"What are we going to discuss with him, anyway?" asked Sirius.

Jacob answered," Oh, you will see."

Professor Flitwick was busy marking homework when they reached his office. He asked them to sit down and offered them bottles of butterbeer.

After few minutes, Professor Flitwick looked towards Jacob to which Jacob nodded. Sirius was watching the exchange curiously.

"Sirius, Jacob told me how much effort you have been putting in for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Jacob came to me a few days ago and recommended you for the Quidditich Team Captain. I tend to agree with him after he showed me the data and strategies you had prepared. So would you take the position," said Professor Flitwick.

Sirius looked from Professor Flitwick to Jacob and then declined. However, it seemed that Professor Flitwick and Jacob had other ideas and kept pestering him with long explanations.

In the end, Sirius said," Professor, they are all older than I am. I am a first year student and I don't expect them to follow my orders. Besides, have you even asked the other team members?"

Jacob said," Will you agree if other members have no objection,."

"Give me some time to think and consult my father," said Sirius giving up.

Professor Flitwick happily said," Now, I won't have to worry about our Quidditch team for next seven years."

Jacob laughed while Sirius gave him an exasperated look.

It turned out that the other team members had no objection, which irritated Sirius.

 _Oh come on, I have so many other things to do._

Sirius penned a letter to his parents. Regulus told him that he was very proud of him while Marlene asked him not to over burden himself.

In the end, Sirius conceded and was awarded the Captain Badge. Lockhart organized a small party to congratulate him on becoming the youngest Quidditich Captain in the history. Lockhart even sent Sirius' picture with himself to Daily Prophet, who printed a small article in the sports section.

Sirius asked the team to consider his offer of buying the new broomsticks for everyone. Sirius' own broomstick was the prototype of 'Firebolt'; however, there was no name on it. Chang agreed but asked him if she could pay him in installments since she didn't feel comfortable that Sirius had to buy broomsticks for everyone. Sirius agreed and even gave her suggestion to work part-time in summer to upgrade her broom next year. Chang seemed happy at the prospect of being able to do something useful during summer vacation. Jeremy asked for the same deal as Chang while Rogers, Jacob and Mark thanked him and told him that they could purchase the latest one on their own. Ethan, the keeper, told him that he would buy a new broomstick next summer after working part-time and asked Sirius to help him find good part time job rather than buying him a broomstick. Sirius told him to get in contact with him in the summer vacations. The Ravenclaw Quidditch team was determined to win the Quidditch Cup.

The dynamics of friendship were a little different here from his past life. Harry and Ron were still friends but instead of Hermione, they were usually with the Chosen One's son. Rat Jr bossed around the Gryffindors in his own year. Neville was friends with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. Ginny Weasley, apparently in this life, too was enamored with the title of the Chosen One. However, Sirius had often noticed Ginny Weasley ogling at him. Hermione Granger didn't have any friends this time around and was usually found alone in the library. Sirius discovered this as he, too was frequent visitor of the library because of the hat's task. Lockhart had given him multiple permission slips for the Restricted Section, which he used every time when he visited the library. Eventually, Madam Pince stopped asking for the permission slips after the tenth time and let him use the Restricted Section without any fuss.

Once, he was reading the book on the life of Salazar Slytherin that Neville interrupted him. Neville put his books loudly on the table Sirius was using. Sirius looked up.

Neville said," You don't mind me sitting here with you? "

Sirius smiled and replied, "Not at all, Nev."

Neville Longbottom, unlike in the past life was confident. The stories described by Harry and Ron portrayed Neville Longbottom as a shy and a dull student. However, this Neville raised by his mother was an excellent student. Still some things were the same, like he still sucked in potions, transfiguration and flying.

Neville said banging his head on the table, "Sirius, help me in potions and transfiguration else I will fail in these subjects. "

Sirius noticed that Hermione Granger was looking at them curiously. Maybe because usually Gryffindors were too busy calling him "a dark wizard "and none of them talked to him. Therefore, Neville talking to him was unusual for the annoying stuck-up girl.

Sirius said,"Nev, what do you need help with? Snivellus usually gives detention to the students who are poor in the potions but I have not seen you in the detentions like few of my classmates. "

Neville asked," Snivellus? "

Sirius replied, " That's my nickname for Professor Snape. "

Neville sniggered," Well, Snivellus does the same in our class but for some unknown reason until now, I have escaped his wrath. Harry and Ron are his usual targets. "

Sirius knew that it was probably because of Augusta Longbottom. Sirius snorted with laughter thinking about Snivellus' crush on the old woman. However, that was not for the others to know. Sirius loved watching expression of Snivellus whenever he mentioned Augusta Longbottom in front of him.

"Well, how can I help? " asked Sirius.

Neville opened his Potions and Transfiguration homework. Sirius and Neville spent an hour and a half on the homework. Hermione Granger kept glancing at them.

When they were finished, Sirius looked directly into her eyes and asked," Miss Granger, do you need something from us?"

Hermione became red with embarrassment. Neville turned around, sitting on his seat.

"Oh, Hermione, do you need help with something? I doubt it would be with homework. Sirius, she is one of the top students in our batch," said Neville.

Sirius already knew that.

Hermione recovered quickly and said in a firm tone, "It's nothing. "

She quickly gathered her things and left the library.

"What was that about? " said Sirius.

"Don't know. Maybe she has a crush on you like all the girls in school, " said Neville.

Sirius snorted, " I highly doubt it. Besides, aren't we too young to think about such things. "

Neville replied, " I suppose we are. But Albus and Ginny announced last night in the Common Room that they are going out. "

Sirius just looked incredulously at Neville.

Neville smiled and said, " I had the same reaction as you."

Sirius said, "Anyway, leaving this aside. For transfiguration, I can help you with the spell-work. And for potions..hmmm…meet me tomorrow here at the same time. I have made something that will help you in making the potions. "

Neville thanked him so much that Sirius started to feel embarrassed.

Next day, Sirius found Neville waiting for him. He greeted him and handed him a box. Neville opened the box to find something like a round test tube stand with multiple test tubes in it along with few knives.

Sirius explained, " I kind of invented this. You just put the ingredients in the test tubes for the potion you are about to prepare, then tap the middle part of this stand with your wand, while clearly stating the name of potion. The stand will automatically calibrate the ingredients into the exact amount required for the potion. I have entered the data for all the potions that you will be making in second year. If the ingredients are less than the required amount, the test tube will turn red. Excessive ingredients will be wasted but I don't think you will mind that. As for the knives, they are self -cutting knives like self-stirring cauldrons. These knives are especially charmed to cut ingredients for potions unlike the knives used in kitchens."

Sirius could see that Neville was flabbergasted.

Neville opened and closed his mouth a few times before whispering, " Thanks Sirius. I just can't believe that you did so much work for me. But aren't these test tubes a little small? "

Sirius replied, "They have extension charm on them. I actually made it for myself. Well, now this set will soon be up for sale in The Potions Stop. I just want to do one thing. "

Neville asked, "What?"

Sirius took a knife and cut Neville 's thumb before he could protest and made a drop of blood fall on the box.

Neville looked at him with confused expression and didn't express any displeasure at all. This made Sirius realize how much Neville trusted him.

Sirius said," Blood ward. Now to everyone else it's a normal potions kit except you and me. "

Neville laughed and said, "Wouldn't want Snivellus to say that I am cheating. "

Sirius smiled.

Neville continued, "Won't other students be able to buy it if it's sold in the shop? "

Sirius said,"Firstly, only I know how to properly charm them. Secondly, I have given you an incomplete product. The real product comes fitted with a self-stirring Cauldron. You just put ingredients in the test tubes and well, after tapping with wand saying the name, the potion is made automatically. Thirdly, they are extremely expensive, not something all parents would buy for their children. Even if they could, the data of potions saved in the set doesn't have anything to do with the coursework in Hogwarts. In the shop, the first batch of such 'automatic potion maker' contains the basic healing potions. And let me tell you adding the data is quite a painstaking task. More so, because in the updated version of this automatic potion maker ,which will be released next year ,one won't even need to add ingredients. They will be conjured from The Potion Stop 's warehouse. I am still trying to perfect the Charms for that."

Neville looked at him with unidentifiable expression and said," You are a genius."

Sirius looked a bit abashed and said," Not at all. "

Neville said, " You are only eleven years old. Here you are making a potion maker. By the way, won't sales go down for the basic healing potions if people buy this."

Sirius smirked and said, "Well, I have added an extra charm so that the ingredients bought only from our shop could be inserted into the test tubes. You are lucky that I haven't added that charm to your set. In addition to that, there is a set number of times that charm will work, meaning depending on price, you can either make potions automatically ten times or hundred times."

Neville smiled and said, "You will be a shrewd businessman. And, I already buy all my ingredients from The Potion Stop. Is there a limit to my set? "

Sirius replied, "No, there isn't."

Neville, again expressed his gratitude with such fervor that Sirius was ashamed. Sirius told him that this has to remain a secret, as the product would be launched around New Year. Neville told him that he didn't need to worry about that as Neville had no desire to tell anyone. After that, he met Neville almost twice or thrice a month to help him with the transfiguration and potions. He happily told Sirius that his potions' grade had improved a lot and even in transfiguration, things were looking good.

Sirius' relationship with teachers was kind of strange. His head of House, Professor Flitwick, had always been nice to him, even in his past life. Now he had become something of a friend. He had realized that the coursework for first year was not advanced enough for Sirius. Therefore, he had given Sirius an old tome that contained many new charms. Professor Flitwick was especially delighted when Sirius talked to him in Gobbledegook, the language of goblins. After that, they often communicated via that language. Sirius as usual caused trouble in class like turning the floor of the Charms classroom into quicksand. Another time, he put sticking charm on the seats of everyone including the Professor. Then he Accio 'd few dozen Cornish pixies in the class which lead to quite an amusing mayhem.

Minerva Mcgonagall was same as before, except this time she was having a hard time giving him detention. And God knew that she was trying as hard as Snivellus. The Ravenclaws had their transfiguration class with the Gryffindors. Thus, some act of mischief was guaranteed in the said lecture despite the strict demeanor of the professor. For example, in their first lecture when they were asked to convert matchstick into needle, Sirius 'accidentally' converted the hair of Chosen One's son, who was sitting in front of Sirius, into needles. Minnie couldn't do anything but glare at him. Once, to the amusement of all the Ravenclaws, he transfigured all the Gryffindors into rats. It was fun vanishing the chairs of all Gryffindors in one lecture. He even accidentally vanished robes of the Chosen One's son when he unsuccessfully tried to transfigure Sirius' hair into snakes; a feat already accomplished by Sirius last week when he transfigured Snivellus' hair into snakes. However, unlike Snivellus, Minnie was fair. In every lecture, Sirius did the transfiguration flawlessly, that too in his first try and Minnie gave him house points. Sirius knew Minnie liked him, despite all her attempts to hide it.

Pomona Sprout was a gentle and nice teacher. She rarely pointed any accusing glare at Sirius, even when Sirius set some plant on the Slytherins. He, once, stuck honking daffodils charmed to insult every action, on the backs of all Slytherins. Another lesson, he casted a spell to make surface of Bouncing Bulbs extra slippery. When students tried to handle them, they couldn't hold them properly and bouncing bulbs slipped from their hands. The plants felt threatened and smacked the students. They stayed true to their name and kept bouncing in the class here and there, beating the students, until Pomona Sprout made them leave to deal with the bouncing plants.

Quirrell taught astronomy for the first two months and Sirius pranked Quirrell +Voldemort in every lesson. In the middle of every lesson or at the end of every lesson, Madam Pomfrey was called to deal with an unconscious Quirrell or a screaming Quirrell. After two months, Remus and Vector came together to inform the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs that they will be teaching this class from now on. Remus would be their main teacher while Vector would be taking a few lectures every month. Sirius knew that it was because Moony would be busy on the full moon. Remus told them that before Christmas, Vector would teach all the lessons. When a Hufflepuff student asked about Quirrell, Remus snorted with laughter earning a look of disapproval from Vector. Vector explained that the students in the class caused him quite a trauma due to their irresponsible and troublemaking behavior.

Well, the troublemaking behavior continued for Vector, too but Vector handled it better than Quirrell. Sirius was actually looking forward to the lectures by Remus after the Christmas break. It would be nice to have a Marauder showdown, Padfoot vs Moony, in the Astronomy class. Sirius had given his best Marauder smirk to Remus and he knew Remus understood.

There was one thing common between Remus and Quirrell. They were both quite protective of Sirius Black. It was somewhat understandable in case of Remus but totally confusing in case of Quirrell, since Sirius had never let the chance to prank Quirrell go whether it was in or outside the class. Remus had given detention to Rat Jr with Snivellus quite a few times. Snivellus had a special expression of delight when Pettigrew and Potter were made to serve detention with him. Sirius had to admit that Snivellus was quite creative when handing out detentions to the sons of Marauders. Snivellus had been trying his hardest to catch Sirius in some act of mischief but to no avail.

Potions class always ended with some sort of disaster. There were two very good reasons for that, Snivellus and Rat Jr. Rat Jr with his girlfriend once tried to put firecracker in the Cauldron of Sirius. Sirius slowed the firecracker and called for Snivellus to check his potion. Snivellus had seen the firecracker and Chosen One's son earned a week of detention along with his girlfriend. Rat Jr even without some outside help from Sirius was abysmal in potions but that didn't mean that Sirius didn't provide some accidental help to already melting or exploding Cauldron of Albus Pettigrew.

Once, Lockhart had asked Sirius to deliver some note to Snivellus. When Sirius entered the potions class in the dungeon, he found Snivellus smiling maliciously at Harry, Ron and Rat Jr while the said students were half covered in the flobberworm mucus. He was sure that Snivellus, unbeknownst to the students, had put sticking charms on the students to make the mucus harder to come off. Snivellus gave him a look that said that he wanted Sirius to be among these students, too. One night Sirius, on his way to the kitchen, passed by Snivellus ' office only to hear the screaming voice of Lily. Apparently, Lily had sent a howler to Snivellus due to the extremely creative detentions that he gave to her son. Sirius wondered what James thought about these detentions because he was partly responsible for them.

Lockhart was useless as a professor but proved to be an excellent ally to Sirius. Lockhart's lectures were more like the Drama Club in Muggle schools rather than defense against the Dark Arts, since they were spent enacting chapters of Lockhart's books. Sirius was made to play role of Gilderoy Lockhart, the hero and while some other poor soul from Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff was made to act as a dark creature. The homework given by Lockhart was a joke. They had to write a poem praising Lockhart, or an essay about the accomplishments of Lockhart. Once, Lockhart even asked them to make his portrait. Sirius had jokingly sent a letter to Dorcas to help him write a poem praising Lockhart. Dorcas had sent him few lines of ridiculous poetry.

 _ **Roses are red,**_

 _ **Roy's eyes are blue,**_

 _ **Smiling with those beautiful teeth,**_

 _ **My dearest Lockhart, I love you!**_

It continued like this. Sirius handed over Dorcas ' letter as homework and for some unknown reason he got an Outstanding on that homework with Lockhart telling others to be creative like Sirius.

Sirius often got strange gifts from Lockhart. Sirius now had a big collection of Lockhart's pictures with his autographs. The strangest gift was the set of books by some author named Bronte Charles. The reaction of the people around told him that these books were really popular but after reading the titles, he wasn't sure if he wanted to read them. He gifted the copy of Vixen of Venice to Milly, giving her few choice words; after which the witch was extremely embarrassed.

Few days after receiving those weird books, he was sitting in the library that Hermione came up to him. Sirius ignored her and kept reading. She cleared her throat and Sirius looked at her.

"I…. I was wondering if I could see those books that Professor Lockhart gifted you," said Hermione in a shy voice.

Sirius was wondering as to why girls were so into those books. Sirius also noted that girls became quite bold when it came to those books.

"I don't have them anymore," Sirius replied and went back to his book titled, 'The Search for Lost Ravenclaw Diadem'.

Hermione kept standing there with a stunned expression.

Sirius sighed and looked at her saying, "Luna wanted to read them so I gave all the books to her since I had no interest in reading them. Oh, I gave one of them to Milly, too."

Just then, Neville joined them. Hermione left as soon as Neville came.

Neville asked," What did Hermione want now? She has been asking questions about you non-stop. It has started to get on my nerves."

Sirius replied, "She wanted those books that Lockhart gave me."

Neville said," What's the big deal about those books anyway? Even in our dormitory, Harry, Ron and Albus were reading one of those named 'the Shed We Shared ' and giggling like girls."

Sirius replied, " I seriously have no idea."

Neville grinned and said, "Seriously or Sirius-ly. Aren't you curious though? "

Sirius looked at him and said," Not at all."

Draco Malfoy and Robert Lestrange joined them after few minutes. Neville had good relation with Draco and Robert this time around. They had met at parties at the Black Manor multiple times. Moreover, Neville was a pureblood from one of the Scared-28 and that really helped.

Draco had read all those tragic bodice ripper novels and was a big fan of Bronte Charles. He happily told the plots of few of the novels to Neville, which sated his curiosity.

Sirius after listening to the plot of 'The Blanket of Sin' gave a baffled look to Draco and asked him as to what was even worth reading about such a novel. All the protagonist did was sleep with a new witch every night and covered them with a blanket that he stole from the girl who rejected him.

"You are a little kid, Sirius. I will explain it to you when you grow up, "said Draco .

Sirius wanted to point out that Draco was only a year older than he was but refrained himself to avoid getting into some pointless argument.

 _Only if you knew the real age of my soul, cousin._

Robert had no interest in the novels and asked Sirius as to why he was reading a book on Ravenclaw's Diadem. Sirius just shrugged it off saying that being in Ravenclaw made him research about this house and its founder.

Meanwhile, Draco and Neville were still discussing the novels.

Robert looked at them and said, "Draco can be pretty shameless sometimes. I read few of those novels since he went on and on about how great the author is. There wasn't anything to obsess over ."

Sirius replied, " It's not only Draco, many people have been acting quite shamelessly when it comes to those books."

Dinnertime approached, so all four of them made their way towards the Great Hall. Draco was still gushing on about the novels to Neville while Sirius and Robert were discussing Quidditch. Most people were not familiar with the fact that Robert Lestrange's father, Rodolphus Lestrange was the owner of the Quidditch team, Puddlemere United. Robert was telling Sirius how Puddlemere United had completely destroyed Chudley Cannons in the recent league matches.

As Sirius and Neville were about to part to go to their House tables, Draco and Robert asked them to join them on the Slytherin table. Sirius knew that his housemates won't make a big deal out of it but things were different for Neville. He could see how the Chosen One's son was eyeing Neville, whispering something to Harry and Ron.

 _Why is Harry playing second fiddle to Rat Jr?_

This had kind of irritated Sirius. Harry, surely, was different this time around. James and Lily had raised him, who Sirius was sure had showered him with love. This Harry was more confident. He was arrogant like James. But his personality was nothing like James because James wasn't the type to follow some Pettigrew around. The only one James Potter ever listened to was Sirius Black.

Moreover, Harry also lacked the aristocratic prim and proper behavior that was part of James' personality. Sirius remembered Euphemia Potter to be quite strict when it came to proper mannerisms. Sirius wondered why was that because if Harry grew up with Mrs. Potter, there was no way that he would have lacked that aristocratic air that was evident in earlier Potters ; sure, they weren't fanatic about it like Blacks who could it make it a matter of life and death.

 _Well, maybe in this life, it's different. Because my James would never have doubted me. Prongs would even commit a crime to be with Padfoot in Azkaban._

Sirius was about to refuse that Luna interrupted him saying, "Sirius, I have read 'The Tower of Lust'."

Luna Lovegood had been a surprise to Sirius. The girl was as eccentric as they come, but Sirius couldn't really comment on that as he, too was deemed quite eccentric. Luna talked to him casually. She had been friendly since the beginning, never once judging him. They even discussed magical creatures sometimes. Luna gave him many editions of Quibbler.

Biggest surprise came to Sirius when Luna showed him the latest edition of Quibbler in which there was an article about Sirius Black being innocent, stating that Sirius Black was not a Death Eater or a Dark Wizard but rather the lead singer, Stubby Boardman of the Hobgoblins. Sirius had laughed loudly. Sirius sent the magazine to his father.

Back to present, Sirius said," Luna, if you wish to discuss the plot with me, I would rather recommend Draco for that. He had read all the books and is a huge fan. "

Malfoy gave him an annoyed look but Luna turned towards Draco and said, "It's a complicated book. The way hero had to seduce a different witch in completely different way on each level to reach the top of the tower was quite intriguing."

This made Draco very happy, as the boys with him hadn't shown an ounce of respect to the books.

Milly, too joined Draco and Luna, discussing whatever was in the book called 'the Tower of Lust'.

"Next thing you know, these three will form a fan club," said Sirius.

Neville and Robert snorted with laughter.

Draco turned around and said, "That's actually not a bad idea. "

Neville asked, "How did Draco come across these books?"

Robert replied, " Aunt Narcissa is a huge fan, too. She was giving few books to my mother but my mother simply turned to Uncle Lucius and said,"Looks like you are unable to properly satisfy my sister." Uncle Lucius was quite angry after that."

Sirius and Neville looked at Robert incredulously.

Robert smirked.

Anyway, fan club had been made for Bronte Charles eventually. Draco had asked him to join but he firmly declined.

Sirius, was not making much progress in the hat's task. Therefore, he decided that he needed to meet one of the greatest historian of the current century, Bathilda Bagshot. Sirius was aware of the fact that the old witch lived in Godric's Hollows. Sirius couldn't go and meet her as eleven year old kid so he decided to drink Polyjuice Potion with Lockhart's hair. One evening, he gave dreamless sleeping potion to Lockhart and locked him in his living quarters. He snuck out of Hogwarts and apparated to Godric's Hollow. There he drank Polyjuice Potion and walked up to Bathilda Bagshot 's house.

Bathilda Bagshot had apparently read all of the Lockhart 's books and was happy to spend the evening with a fellow author. She warmly welcomed him, having her house elf serve tea and pastries to Lockhart. Sirius discussed her books with her showing that he was interested in the founders' history particularly. Bathilda Bagshot was extremely happy that someone famous like Lockhart was so enthralled by her books and could quote them word to word.

Discussion, somehow, led to current Hogwarts' Headmaster and Bathilda told him all about the friendship of one Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindewald. When a look of skepticism passed on the Lockhart's face, Bathilda showed him photographs as well as letters of correspondence between Dumbledore and Grindewald. Sirius, secretly made copies of the photographs and letters.

What surprised Sirius more than the friendship between Dumbledore and Grindewald was the symbol on the letters. It was the mark of Deathly Hallows, the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak. The possession of all three made one master of Death. Many families considered the Hallows to be just children's fairy tale but Blacks were aware that these items actually did exist.

 _Why are all Dark Lords obsessed with Death. One was trying to become Master of Death, other was busy making horcruxes, to conquer Death. Yet, in the end, Death always wins, no matter how hard one tries to avoid it._

Sirius, then asked her about the graves of the founders. He saw that the old woman slightly stiffened.

Bathilda Bagshot said," Why are you searching for their graves?"

Sirius replied, "Actually, someone asked me to search for them as they wanted to visit the graves."

Bathilda Bagshot replied, "Was it the sorting hat?"

Sirius knew that old witch had seen the look of surprise on Lockhart's face.

Bathilda continued, " So, it is the hat. But if the hat asked you then hat must have thought that you have potential. "

 _Well, not sure about that because I was the one who wanted to make a deal with hat. Hat didn't choose me for anything._

Sirius asked," How did you guess about the hat?"

Bathilda replied, "It was not a guess because I was asked to do the same by the hat."

Sirius saw that Bathilda became very sad but she continued in a heavy voice," But I failed. I didn't become historian because I loved history. I became one because while searching for the graves, I read so much history from one tome to another, all of which was extremely disorganized. The early books were actually my notes that I organized for myself to help me during the hunt for the graves. After spending four decades of my life on this search, I went to apologize to the hat. The hat asked me to publish all my works because it will help when the person who could really find the graves will enter Hogwarts. "

Sirius muttered, " Why does it seem like the hat was manipulating you?"

Bathilda replied, "Because it was. Nevertheless, I don't regret it one bit. I was never a very ambitious person. I would have wasted my perfect memory and magical skills doing something completely boring. Instead, because of hat and the hunt, I lived a life of adventure. "

Bathilda Bagshot smiled a genuine smile.

Sirius couldn't help but return it. Bathilda Bagshot asked him to stay for dinner. Maybe, Bathilda Bagshot had thought that he would refuse; instead, he readily agreed realizing how hungry he was. Bathilda Bagshot had laughed at his attitude. But then again,Lockhart was quite shameless. So this was the only time, Sirius wasn't acting out of character.

He had a very nice dinner with the celebrated historian. He thanked the historian for her time and asked if he could visit her again.

Bathilda Bagshot replied, "Yes, you can visit me whenever you want. I haven't had such a pleasant company in quite a while. "

Sirius happily thanked her again.

Bathilda continued, "Here take this key to my second Gringotts vault. It's a small vault but it's filled with all my research on history and quite a few books that I never really figured out. And don't worry, I will write to Gringotts that you will drop by and that you be provided access to that vault. "

Sirius gave her a shocked look.

Bathilda smiled and said," Maybe, you will succeed in what I failed."

Sirius said in a firm tone, " You didn't fail. And it's not 'I', it will be us, you and me both who will succeed. I will keep you in the loop about my progress. "

Bathilda Bagshot smiled.

Sirius then kissed the old witch on the cheek and bid her goodbye.

As soon as he stepped out, he heard voice of Bathilda Bagshot, "Mr. Lockhart, my great-nephew, Gellert is a seer."

Sirius looked back at the old witch as she waved him goodbye.

Sirius was not a big fan of divination but the tone of Bathilda Bagshot had told him that she wasn't kidding. There was fear in her voice. Bathilda Bagshot, though old, was still coherent and intelligent. But Sirius couldn't figure out as to how this piece of information was significant. Grindewald was in Nurmengard. Maybe, he made some prophecy about him escaping in front of his great-aunt or rising to power again. Sirius decided to let it go for now.

Sirius had decided to go to Gringotts as Lockhart next week. He would empty the vault taking all the research material once and for all. He didn't want Lockhart to become addicted to dreamless sleeping potion.

Next week, he was standing in Gringotts as Lockhart, talking to a goblin. Goblin told him that they had received the letter from Bathilda Bagshot and he would be taken to the vault in a few minutes. The vault was medium-sized and filled with scrolls and books. He told the goblin accompanying him that he would be emptying the vault and it would take time. Goblin told him,that he would be back after an hour. Sirius started putting books in a bottomless briefcase.

As he was about to exit Gringotts, someone grabbed his upper arm. He turned around to see his father looking at him curiously.

"Sirius, if you can visit Gringotts, surely you won't mind joining your family for dinner, "said Regulus smirking.

Sirius asked, "Am I that obvious?"

Regulus replied, "Not to others but to me, yes."

Sirius stuck out his tongue.

Regulus said in an amused tone, " Yeah, I am sure Lockhart goes around doing that. So, do I need to know why you are robbing Gringotts?"

Sirius replied ,"I will tell you over dinner. And I am not robbing, Bathilda Bagshot gave me key to the vault."

Regulus sighed and said," So now my son is interested in history. "

They apparated back to the Grimmauld Place.

Sirius did his best Lockhart impression and easily fooled Walburgha Black at dinner. Marlene, however, figured it out after Sirius hugged his mother. When they were eating dinner, Polyjuice Potion wore off and Walburgha Black almost swore. Sirius and Regulus chuckled. Twinky was very happy and Sirius got an extra large serving of treacle tart which was like the whole tart.

His mother asked him to visit frequently if he was loitering around outside Hogwarts, impersonating other people, anyway. He protested that he wasn't loitering around and told them about the hat's task of finding the founders' graves. He also told them about his visit to Bathilda Bagshot showing the letters and pictures of Dumbledore and Grindewald. His parents and grandmother were stunned. Sirius made copies of the letters and pictures and gave them to his father. There was a certain shine in Regulus' eyes that Sirius had only seen when Regulus had told him that Voldemort won't bother them.

At the end of discussion, his parents and grandmother told him that they would help him with the task and send him any related history book they came across. Sirius promised to visit again and left for Hogwarts.

When Sirius heard about the petrified Mrs. Norris along with the message from the heir of Slytherin, he internally groaned.

 _Of course, if the heir of Slytherin, himself, was present, diary wasn't needed to open the chamber of Secrets. But why did Voldemort even open it?_

As usual, Gryffindors had spread the rumors all across Hogwarts that Sirius was the heir of Slytherin. Fear was evident in the atmosphere in the following days. Sirius wrote a detailed letter to Dumbledore about the chamber of Secrets but was extremely confused when Dumbledore didn't take any action. Even if Sirius didn't like the Headmaster, he did acknowledge the fact that Dumbledore was a powerful wizard. The inaction on the part of the Headmaster made him angry.

The letter did have one effect, though. Sirius was asked to visit the office of Dumbledore. Professor Flitwick told him the password and left him in the office alone. Sirius decided to take this opportunity to talk to the hat. He was discussing his progress which wasn't much when they were distributed by Phineas Black.

"Sirius, what are you doing here? I just came back from the Grimmauld Place, " said Phineas.

Sirius told him about the heir of Slytherin opening the chamber of Secrets and how he was thought to be the said heir.

Phineas snorted," Well, if they are going about heir in such an obtuse way, the Blacks will be heir to every pureblood family that ever existed. We are the most ancient family in the wizarding world , we don't need to ride on the founders' coattails to gain importance or power."

Sirius replied, "Well, it would be nice if you can tell this to the current Headmaster. "

The hat said," The Headmaster, though, is a brilliant wizard but he can be ignorant about few things. He isn't very familiar with the magic of pureblood families. But that's not his fault, it's just because you pureblood families protect your secrets to the grave. That was why he never trusted your uncle Sirius. Your uncle declined to spill the secrets of the Black family to the Headmaster. "

Phineas said," I remember that day. It was the only time I was proud of that idiotic heir of the Black family. "

 _Dumbledore, even in this life, is wary of the Black family. But why?_

Sirius was pulled out of his thoughts as Draco, Robert and Romeo joined him.

Robert sniggered, "Why are you wearing the sorting hat? "

Sirius tried to imagine what he must have been looking like, sitting on the chair turned to face the portrait of Phineas, wearing the sorting hat.

Sirius ignored the question and asked them what they were doing in the office. They said that they didn't know. They were joined them the Headmaster shortly.

Headmaster asked them if they knew anything about the heir of Slytherin or chamber of Secrets, if they had heard or seen anything. Sirius was angry that instead of acting on the information already provided to him, Dumbledore was wasting time interrogating eleven and twelve years old kids. What Dumbledore wanted to accomplish from this was beyond Sirius because it turned out to be completely futile.

Fear turned to excitement when Remus and Lockhart opened a dueling club. Sirius had noticed that something was going on with Remus so he asked Lockhart. Lockhart told him about the gambling life of Remus from 'illegal pranking ring' to 'illegal dueling ring '. Sirius couldn't help laughing.

 _Moony addicted to gambling…. There is first time for everything._

In the first dueling session, few students from every year were chosen to duel each other. When it came to the second year. Harry was chosen to duel Draco, Neville to duel Robert and Hermione to duel Milly. Harry and Draco had the most serious duel with the few spells they knew. The duel ended in a draw.

Neville and Robert were discussing the dueling rather than performing it. They were sending spells at each other saying things like, "Let's see what will happen if we use this spell or that charm in the duel." Snivellus told them to take the duel seriously which both of them failed to do so and thus, were dismissed.

Milly and Hermione, well, they both had abandoned their wands and were busy in a rather heated catfight. Lockhart and Remus tried to tell them off multiple times but to no avail. Snivellus, however, was praising Milly. Remus finally used the impedimenta jinx and asked Madam Pomfrey to separate the girls.

Sirius was made to duel the Chosen One's son. Chosen One started taunting him about being a dark wizard. Sirius just rolled his eyes and was about to send a full-body bind curse that Lockhart interfered. Lockhart wanted to show Sirius some strange wand movement. Rat Jr complained something about favoritism but Lockhart completely ignored him.

Well, dueling club lead to the Dueling Championship. Sirius was not interested in participating at all. He already had a lot in his plate.

On the morning of their first Quidditch match, Sirius was eating breakfast with the team that Luna came and sat with him.

Sirius asked," So miss Lovegood, do you see any nargles surrounding your Quidditch team? "

Luna smiled and said, "No, I don't, that's why I know that our team will win today. "

Sirius knew why Xenophilius Lovegood told his daughter about extinct or imaginary creatures. Luna Lovegood had inherited the power to sense auras from her mother's side of family, the Rowles. This was the reason that Luna was strangely perceptive. Her father knew that if Rowles found out about this power, they will take her away from him. The Rowles were wealthy and powerful, unlike the Lovegoods. Sirius had read every book in the Rowle library. Moreover, the portrait of the old Rowle witch in the library, had gone on and on about this to Sirius. The old Rowle witch was the last one to have this power and used it to find the weakest links in the rank of their opponents when she fought on the front lines for Grindewald.

Ravenclaws had seen how hard their Quidditch team had been working to win the Quidditch Cup. So this time they, too were extremely enthusiastic. Multiple banners had been prepared by them. The team moved towards the changing room.

Sirius knew as the Captain he had to say something.

Sirius looked towards everyone and smirked saying in a definitive tone, "We will win."

And then everybody shouted, "Yes."

The match started.

Sirius, Rogers and Jeremy were in perfect sync. They had set one beater to send bludgers in the direction of Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff seeker. Jacob was busy trying to knock out the Hufflepuff Chasers.

Lee Jordan from Gryffindor was doing the commentary. He had commented about how whole Ravenclaw team was sporting the new broomsticks.

Sirius heard him saying "Black is fast, kind of too fast. Wonder which broomstick is he using? He scores again and the Hufflepuff Keeper didn't even get the chance to move."

Sirius again zoomed towards the goal post again and now almost everyone in the Hufflepuff team was trying to stop him thinking that he had the Quaffle but were proved wrong when Jeremy scored. Jacob successfully knocked out the keeper.

Lee commented, " Well, the Ravenclaw team is fast. New broomsticks are sure to have such impact. Hufflepuffs don't know what hit them. Score is 210-60. Even if the Hufflepuff seeker caught the snitch now, they won't win."

Finally, Chang caught the snitch. The final score was 460-130. The cheers and noise from the Ravenclaw team were deafening. Professor Flitwick was overjoyed and came to congratulate the team on the Quidditch pitch. Professor Flitwick told them about the party. He said he will order food from the Delectable Meadows.

Sirius saw Remus and Quirrell holding small Ravenclaw flags.

He heard Snivellus say," First year as a captain and they completely destroyed Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs are soft as always. "

Sirius had often seen Remus with Snivellus and Quirrell+Voldemort. Well, Remus wasn't aware of the literal double personality of Quirrell. But Snivellus, how did he and Remus became friends? The only reason he could think of was that Snivellus was different from before. Yes, he was still bitter and had a constant sneer on his face. He was busy exacting revenge against the Marauders by going after their kids. He loved scaring the students, even humiliating them sometimes. But still unlike the past life, this Snivellus was different; this Snivellus seemed free. Free to do ridiculous things like moving his neck and hair in a strange way, using spells on his robes, falling in love with Augusta Longbottom, etc.

 _Maybe because this time Lily is alive and well._

Sirius saw that gradually Lockhart became part of their group. And this group of teachers was quite eccentric. Sirius wondered if Hogwarts ever had such a group of teachers before, werewolf who was busy gambling, potions master whose favorite pastime was tormenting students and making his robes flow, a stuttering teacher who had the 'Dark Lord ' in his turban and a narcissist fraudster who loved flashing his teeth.

Sirius also found out one night that someone was trying to kill him. He received a note that someone wanted to meet him in the Astronomy tower. Checking the Marauders Map, he found that, that someone was Percy Weasley. He knew there was no harm in meeting Percy the Prefect. So he went. He observed that Percy's eyes were glazed and there was a certain abnormal twitch in his movements. He was so busy in observing strange behavior of Percy that he didn't expect what Percy did next. Well, Percy pushed him off the tower. Sirius casted Arresto Momentum and landed safely with few scratches. By the time he landed, he knew that Percy was under the Imperius curse. Whoever had casted the Imperius curse had released Percy next day because he seemed normal at the breakfast.

 _Why is someone trying to kill me? Who could I have offended? Lots of people even in this life.._

After few weeks, Sirius received poisoned chocolates with a card quoting that it was from his father. Sirius rolled his eyes when he saw his least favorite chocolates covered in poison. He threw them away after burning them. Sirius was angry at the new mystery thrown at him.

Voldemort's file that Sirius stole from the record room was useless except for one single fact that Voldemort was half-blood.

 _All the purebloods following a half-blood, ah the irony. And those idiots called me blood traitor._

Sirius already knew that Tom Riddle was an exceptional student. The only link was the Muggle orphanage that Tom Riddle used to live in during his Hogwarts days. The said orphanage didn't exist any more. Sirius tried to track the old staff but it turned out to be a fruitless search.

Christmas Holidays were approaching and Sirius was happy that he would literally get a break from everything. He had decided to laze around in the house during the holidays. He had written to his parents that he wanted a private Christmas with his parents, grandparents, Twinky and Silver to which his parents agreed.

Sirius was making Christmas gifts for his family and friends. He had made lockets for his mother, grandmother and godmother ; rings for his father and grandfather ; a bangle for Twinky and a collar for Silver. He had fashioned an earring in shape of a katana for himself. Well, the special thing about these pieces of jewelry was that they all contained the philosopher's stone. Sirius had hidden it's aura with runes and it will only activate for healing when the wearer would be suffering from some life threatening injury or malady. The leftover philosopher's stone which was majority of it, had gone into Sirius' earring which didn't have the healing rune, only the concealing ; because if philosopher's stone activated in front of Dumbledore ,he would get caught. He had also made a ring with wolf insignia for Remus but he couldn't give it to Remus as long as he was working in Hogwarts. Thus he bought a goblin made pocket watch for Remus and carved the same wolf insignia on it that was on the ring. It was what Sirius had told Remus to make his family Crest in his past life.

Few days before Christmas Holidays, Sirius received a letter from his father. The letter was accompanied with another letter written by Remus to his parents.

 _ **Dear Marlene and Regulus,**_

 _ **Hope this letter finds you in best of health.**_

 _ **I am sure you would be surprised receiving a letter from me after all this time. But I beg you to hear my side of story and grant me forgiveness for my cowardice, if possible.**_

 _ **When Pettigrew came with his story, I reluctantly agreed with James and Peter but I was too shocked at the loss of Sirius, that I didn't really protest at the time. Shock wore off and was replaced by fear. I was afraid that if I sided with Sirius, I would be thrown in Azkaban or worse, be given Dementor's kiss due to my lycanthropy. This fear made me keep my mouth shut and eventually my door shut when Regulus came.**_

 _ **When Dorcas was shunned by the public, even her own lover and friends ; I gave up the idea to make any public declaration of Sirius' innocence. Not very Gryffindor of me, I know. But karma is a bitch. I abandoned my best friend; thus, was in turn abandoned by the others I considered friend.**_

 _ **Please forgive me.**_

 _ **I have another request. There is a Dueling Championship being held in Hogwarts. Each teacher will train one of the students of their own choice and there will be an event at the end of March. I wanted to train your son, Sirius Black. Though, I say I want to train him but truth is I just want to spend more time with him because he reminds me of my best friend, Sirius. Moreover, I want to tell him more about his uncle. Young Sirius doesn't have to participate in a single duel.**_

 _ **Please give me permission to spend some time with Sirius.**_

 _ **My friend, Sirius Black was not a Death Eater and I am sure that he was the one who got rid of Lord Voldemort. How Pettigrew is involved in all of this, I have no idea. However, I have decided to find out what really happened that night.**_

 _ **Waiting for your forgiveness,**_

 _ **Remus Lupin**_

Sirius read the letter. His parents had sent it with permission slip and asked him to decide himself, if he wanted to spend more time with Remus. Sirius was thinking as to how he never bothered to find out what actually happened that night. He realized that he was too busy actually living a life unlike his past life, that he didn't even bother to find the truth. In this life, he had a real childhood unlike last time.

Sirius decided to spend time with Remus not for training or learning more about himself, but rather to find out what happened that night. It was strange that none of the Death Eaters knew that Pettigrew had been a Death Eater and their ally. His family had lots of Death Eaters but none of them had been aware of this particular fact.

 _Why? Pettigrew can never defeat one of my relative, even if he had multiple lives._

Sirius thought it was a good thing that Remus was friends with Quirrell. Voldemort was one of the three people who were there that night. Sirius hadn't disclosed the fact that Quirrell was sharing his body with the Dark Lord because he was sure that Voldemort had more horcruxes. Voldemort cannot be killed until all horcruxes had been dealt with.

 _Remus is a perfect ally. But still I can't ask Remus to help look for horcruxes because James and Remus unlike Peter were not very good at Occlumency. Maybe, it's time to bury the Gryffindor inside me and befriend Quirrell + Voldemort._

Sirius went to give permission slip to Remus to find him discussing how Veronica had ripped her dress for the postman with Snivellus, Quirrell and Lockhart. Sirius couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

The next day, he boarded the train to London. He was happy to go home. Like last time, he sat alone in the last compartment.

His parents had come to pick him up at the station.

He was happy to be at home. In his past life, he never would have imagined that his room in the Grimmauld Place is where he will truly feel at home. As he wanted, he spent a few days lazing around in the house.

His parents had declined all invitations to the Christmas parties. Marlene, however, decided to drop by Longbottoms to give presents to all the kids that were attending the party. Apparently, Alice had detailed all the party plans to Marlene and Dorcas during their last get-together. And well, Marlene loved giving Christmas gifts. She was like that in Hogwarts, too. Everybody in the Gryffindor tower got atleast one Christmas present and that was from Marlene. She always said that she liked spreading Christmas cheer. She had heard about muggle's folklore pertaining to Santa Claus when she was seven years old and was enamored by it.

Marlene and Walburgha were out shopping for the Christmas. Sirius went to his father's study. Regulus was playing chess with Orion and discussing something about business.

When he saw Sirius, he patted to the chair beside him. Sirius went and sat beside them.

Sirius asked," Dad, have you mastered your form?"

Orion looked inquisitively while Regulus flushed.

"Well, not everybody is as good at transfiguration as your uncle and you," said Regulus.

Sirius snickered and told Orion about their plan to become illegal animagi. He asked Orion to keep it secret. Orion Black was a true believer in the pureblood supremacy but he was more of a 'live and let live' kind of guy. To him muggles were like insects that could be ignored. Despite all that, Orion was fiercely loyal to his family. Even in his past life, despite Walburgha 's insistence Orion never officially named Regulus as his heir. Sirius and Regulus knew that Orion would take the secrets to his grave. Moreover, he was expert in Occlumency and legilemency and that helped.

Orion replied, " Becoming animagus is extremely difficult and complex that is why there are very few people who successfully become animagus. And well, Sirius was really a genius. That boy could accomplish anything when he set his mind on it."

Regulus replied teasingly, " Well, sorry for not being a genius."

Orion and Sirius laughed.

Orion said," Sirius, you should go ahead and become an animagus."

Regulus sighed and said, "Well, how about you complete the process in the summer vacations. I will keep trying to work on the form but I might not be able to become an animagus. I would at least like to be there when you are attempting it."

Sirius replied, "Ok, thanks a lot Dad and granddad."

Sirius watched the two play. After some time Twinky brought tea and biscuits for them.

While drinking tea, Sirius decided to finally get to the point of why he was here.

Sirius said," I have made gifts for you all myself. They are pieces of jewelry made from silver. I tried copying the techniques of goblins. Of course they are not like goblin made jewelry but I think it's good. "

Sirius paused and looked at the two older wizards. They were looking at him curiously while waiting for him to continue.

Sirius continued, "Well, I want you to wear those pieces all the time and ensure that mom, grandma, Twinky and Silver do the same. Those pieces of jewelry have powerful healing runes along with philosopher's stone."

Regulus and Orion sputtered their tea most of which landed on Sirius' face.

"What did you say? I think I didn't hear you correctly, " said Orion.

Sirius wiped the tea from his face and said," They contain philosopher's stone and you two can't tell anyone about it. Don't worry, there is also a rune to hide the aura of philosopher's stone. "

Orion and Regulus were dumbfounded for a few minutes.

Then Regulus asked," How did you obtain this philosopher's stone? "

Sirius replied, "Well, I kind of stole it," and looked away.

Regulus said," Details? "

Sirius told them about the forbidden corridor and how word 'forbidden' had enticed him, so he decided to explore the corridor. He told them about the obstacles and how he finally got philosopher's stone from the mirror of Erised.

Regulus and Orion laughed . Regulus clapped on his back.

Orion said, " I would like to reprimand you for stealing but to me it seems that Dumbledore was expecting someone to steal it. "

Regulus said," Instead of announcing to the whole school about having a forbidden corridor, Dumbledore should have just warded it off. He should know by now that word 'forbidden' has never kept the curious ones out of the 'Forbidden Forest' so there was no way some kid wouldn't be lured to the corridor when word 'forbidden' was added to it."

Orion said," The question is that why the philosopher's stone was hidden in Hogwarts. It was with Nicolas Flamel and his wife. "

Sirius couldn't tell them that it was because Voldemort and Quirrell had tried to steal it.

Regulus speculated, "Maybe someone tried to steal it from them. When they sensed that it was in danger they entrusted it to Dumbledore. "

Sirius smiled at his father.

Orion added," Dumbledore is good friends with Nicolas. But it doesn't seem like entrusting it to Dumbledore worked out. It was stolen anyway. "

Sirius stuck out his tongue at them.

Regulus laughed and ruffled his hair.

Sirius said," Now you know why you can't tell anyone and well, wear it all the time and make sure others wear it, too."

Both the older wizards nodded and affirmed him that they will do it.

Orion said, " You just keep increasing the Black family's secrets. I heard that you will be participating in the Dueling Championship. There is a big bet going on. Lucius mentioned it in the club. Should I bet on my grandson?"

Sirius replied, " No, you shouldn't. I have no interest in properly participating in any of the duels. I will most likely forfeit after one or two duels."

Regulus asked,"Why?"

Sirius replied, "I am only a first year. I can't win a duel against people six or seven year older than me."

Orion and Regulus chuckled.

Regulus said," Yeah, I am sure that is the reason. Kid who beat Moody in multiple duels, of course, can't win duels against some sixth or seventh year students. "

Sirius gave an innocent look to his father which made Regulus smile.

Orion said," Well, it's better not to draw unwanted attention to yourself. "

They heard Marlene and Walburgha come and discussing something in loud voices.

"They sure are being quite noisy," said Orion.

Regulus replied in a grave voice, "Don't interfere with them unless you want to hear an hour long lecture about Christmas decorations. "

Sirius nodded recalling his grandmother 's long speech last night. His grandparents were staying in the Grimmauld Place for the Christmas Holidays.

Luck wasn't on their side as both women barged into the study and told them all about the Christmas decorations. Sirius tried to escape but was stopped by Regulus. Both the older wizards gave him the look suggesting that men should stick together when faced with the females of the Black family.

Next day, they received invitation from Florean to come to his parlor for ice-cream on the Christmas Day. He had insisted so much that Regulus said that he would feel bad for declining his invitation. Sirius agreed.

Days before Christmas were spent seeing his family decorate the house while he just lazed around. On Christmas Eve he had a nice dinner with his family. They were joined by Dorcas and Lockhart only.

Night before Christmas, Sirius placed the gifts below the tree.

He had given Dorcas' and Lockhart's gifts to them when they left after dinner. He had purchased blue robes for Lockhart with a charm to make them flow. Lockhart had mentioned once that he liked the way Snivellus' robes flow. Regulus asked them to join for dinner and trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow. Lockhart declined telling about his dinner with the Minister and the Ambassadors. Dorcas, however, said that they will try to join for ice-cream.

On Christmas day, the whole family gathered around the tree for gifts. This tradition had been introduced in the Black family by Marlene.

Orion opened his gifts first. He had received multiple bottles of firewhisky and wine from his friends. Lestrange family had given him new robes with the Black family's Crest. Malfoys had given him a cane at which Sirius couldn't help but laugh. Walburgha had given him a box containing dozen vials of Felix Felicis. Marlene and Regulus had given him a 'Raven' for delivering mail and other purposes. Ravens were extremely rare birds. The last gift Orion opened was from Sirius. It was a ring with the Black Crest. Orion praised the ring a lot.

Regulus looked at the ring and said," It really is beautifully made."

Orion wore the ring and promised Sirius that he would always wear it. Sirius knew that Orion had intentionally said it as it would prompt the others to do the same.

Walburgha had received various pieces of jewelry and expensive sets of robes from her friends and peers. Orion gave her a box of extremely rare and expensive potion ingredients. Some of the ingredients could only be picked once in a decade. One of the ingredients, 'the ruby root' could only be picked once in a century. Marlene gave her a frame which contained pictures of Sirius Black. Walburgha hugged Marlene after seeing the pictures. Sirius, however, was wondering where this love for her older son was coming from after spending two decades of torturing him, physically and mentally. Regulus gave her her favorite perfume. Walburgha loved the locket made by Sirius and promised to wear it all the time like Orion.

Marlene opened her gifts next. Dorcas had given her emerald earrings along with matching robes. Walburgha had apparently given all of them box containing dozen vials of Felix Felicis. Orion had given her very rare editions of books containing curses and counter-curses. The books had been imported from Egypt. Sirius said he wanted to read them,too. Marlene said they should read and practice together in summer vacation like they did before Hogwarts. Sirius had practiced multiple curses and counter-curses with his mother before. He even helped his mother sometimes in her job. Regulus gave her a gold plated family album. It contained pictures from the time Sirius was born till date. Their wedding had been very private as the war was going on and no pictures had been taken. This made Regulus celebrate wedding anniversary with great fervor and get lots of pictures taken. Marlene loved Sirius' gift and Sirius made her promise that she, too will wear it all the time.

What's surprising was that Marlene received a gift from Bill Weasley. Regulus made a strange face on seeing the gift which made Marlene laugh. Sirius asked how she knew Bill Weasley. She told him that she had been his supervisor at Gringotts and he was a very capable curse-breaker. Sirius had liked Bill Weasley in his past life. Unlike his mother, Bill was broad-minded and liked to form his own opinions. The gift from Bill was a beautiful charmed bracelet. The bracelet was very expensive. Sirius knew that Weasleys weren't doing well financially even this time around. Sirius asked what gift she had given to Bill. She told him that she gave him dragon hide boots and robes.

Regulus' pile was larger than the other adults. It contained bottles of firewhisky and wine, boxes of chocolates, pocket watches, robes, etc. Some of the gifts were from the witches at the Ministry who were apparently in love with Regulus. Marlene gave an annoyed look to her husband. Sirius and his grandparents watched the exchange with amusement. Orion's gift to Regulus was keys. When inquired, Orion told him that he bought a cottage for Regulus in Hogsmeade so he could stay there and be near Sirius whenever he wanted. Regulus hugged his father tightly.

Marlene gave him keys which Sirius recognized immediately. It was his bike's keys. Regulus looked at her inquisitively. Marlene told her that she asked Aunt Mia about Sirius's motorbike and when she told Marlene that it was in the cottage, Marlene asked her to give it to her. Regulus kept looking at the keys, running his fingers over them. He held them tightly, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He stood up and kissed Marlene right there and then in front of them. Sirius said he wanted that bike. Regulus ruffled his hair and said it was his as soon as he was of age. Regulus already knew about Sirius' gift and happily wore it thanking him.

Sirius' pile was the largest. Even his whole team had sent him gifts. Sirius inwardly thanked her mother who had bought gifts for everyone in the Ravenclaw House. She had obtained the list from Professor Flitwick who remembered Marlene's obsession with Christmas. Marlene had sent gifts to all the professors, too. Sirius tried to imagine Snivellus' expression on seeing the gift from Marlene. She had bought formal dress robes for all the professors. Remus, though had gotten extra gifts which included diamond cufflinks from Regulus and a pocket watch with wolf insignia from Sirius. Sirius had written in the letter to Remus that he should make this wolf insignia his family Crest.

Sirius opened the gift from Remus. It was a broomstick servicing kit. Sirius was surprised to see the gift from Mrs. Potter. He looked at the package and then at his mother.

Marlene said," Aunt Mia asked me if she could send Christmas present to you. I told her she didn't need to ask for permission because Sirius is her grandson, too."

Marlene then looked at Walburgha and said, "Mother, I hope you aren't offended by it but she is one of the last McKinnons and I want to keep this link between my family alive."

Walburgha shrugged her off saying that she didn't care.

Sirius opened the present. It contained the shephard's pie and a hand knitted muffler with a warming charm. Sirius' did his best to hide the emotions he felt on seeing the shephard's pie. He took out a slice and ate it.

"It's the best shephard's pie I have ever eaten," said Sirius.

Marlene smiled while Regulus and Orion took a slice to try, ignoring the looks Walburgha gave them about their manners. Both men, too found it delicious. Regulus asked Marlene as to how she failed to acquire her Aunt's cooking skills, earning a stinging hex from his wife.

Sirius then opened Luna 's gift. He was sure that it would be one of the interesting ones. It was a small black box which contained a black shiny fang type thing, a black and silver hair in a thin glass tube, and a vial of blood. The only ones to recognize what all this was, was Sirius and Orion.

Orion said picking up shiny fang type thing," It's a piece of horn of a unicorn. Black unicorns are common in Africa but they all have white horns. Unicorns with Black horns are extinct. Does this girl even know that how powerful magic item she had gifted you? "

Sirius replied, " Most probably not. I will tell her what it is in Hogwarts and if she wants it back."

Regulus picked up the glass tube with the hair and asked what this was.

Sirius took and looked at it. He replied, "It's a thestral hair. But it's the first time I have seen a black and silver one. According to books multicolored thestrals existed at the time of Merlin."

"This must be blood of some creature. Where did she get all these from?" said Marlene picking up blood.

"She and her father often go on trips to search for extinct or imaginary creatures. Maybe she found these on one such expedition. I will ask her, " said Sirius.

Next surprise for Sirius was to find a gift from Hermione Granger. She had given Sirius a pair of hourglass. It was a useful gift and Sirius once again thanked the spirit of Santa Claus that possessed his mother as she was taking gifts for all Gryffindors that were attending Longbottom's Christmas party and Hermione was one of them.

Sirius had also received a box of chocolates from the ministry witch who apparently was waiting for Sirius to be of age. Sirius gave it to his father who laughed and told others the story.

Orion had given him a high quality sneakoscope. Marlene gave him a very old coin. She told him it was an antique and from one of the very first goblin mines which were now abandoned. It was beautiful and had magic in it like the coin Sirius had received from Fundok. However, none of them knew what magic it was but they knew that it wasn't anything harmful.

Regulus gave him a box containing woods from the twelve most magical trees in the world. Sirius had once mentioned it to Regulus as to how he would like to make a wand using those woods. Regulus told him that Ollivander helped him in the task. Sirius had sent Christmas gift to Ollivander, too. Regulus also gave him a book from Ollivander. This book was about the most powerful wands that ever existed with the commentary of Ollivander 's ancestors on how they were possibly made.

 _I already made one of the most powerful wand to ever exist._

Mr. Borgin and Mr. Burkes had sent him special gloves which could be used for handling even the most dangerous dark artefacts. Regulus told him that he sent them gifts from Sirius. Sirius thanked his father.

On Christmas day, after dinner they went to ice cream parlor. They were warmly welcomed by Mr. Florean. He saw James when he came up to meet Moody. Regards turned away while Sirius kept looking at James. James was trying his hardest not to look at him and Sirius found it amusing. He met Mrs. Potter and thanked her for her gifts.

After greeting almost all the families and eating ice-cream, they were on their way back when they ran into few young wizards and witches. Sirius recognized three of them immediately, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks.

Bill very enthusiastically came up to Marlene and greeted her.

Marlene also greeted him in response.

Sirius noted that Bill didn't like Regulus at all. He was wondering why when he noticed the way Bill was looking at his mother. It was the look Sirius had seen in the eyes of many girls, it was the look James had for Lily, it was the look Remus gave to his first love Mary McDonald.

Bill Weasley was in love with Marlene Black.

Sirius heard Nymphadora make an angry noise. Sirius looked towards her and saw her watching exchange between Bill and Marlene with disdain. What also caught Sirius' attention was the look of longing that Charlie was giving to Nymphadora.

Sirius realized that he had just encountered a strange love pentagon or something. Charlie had a crush on Nymphadora. Nymphadora liked Bill. Bill was in love with Marlene. Marlene loved Regulus.

Next day, Sirius received a letter from Remus who told him that he will register the wolf insignia as Lupin's family Crest as soon as Holidays are over.

Too soon, it was time to head back to Hogwarts.

 **Euphemia Potter PoV**

Christmas Holidays were just around the corner. Euphemia Potter was sitting by the fireplace recalling that day at the Diagon Alley.

A boy, around eleven years old, had bumped into her accidentally. When that boy looked up while apologizing, she forgot to breathe. It was as if she had her son back. She loved James and Sirius equally, one was the son she gave birth to and one was the son she chose and wished she had given birth. Euphemia Potter felt tears escaping her eyes. He wasn't her son but she wanted to hug him and ask him if he wanted to eat the shepherd's pie like old times, she wanted to hide this boy from every harm. He was standing so close but he was so far, so far from her. She felt her heart crying.

 _My son, Sirius._

When that little boy gave her, his handkerchief, she took it remembering her son doing the same. She gathered all her feelings and kissed the boy's forehead. She watched him go with the famous blond wizard. She prayed silently in her heart.

 _My blessings will always be with you, may never any calamity befall you, wherever you go I wish you live a long life full of happiness, success kiss your feet every way….._

She decided to ask Remus to come back and spend the Christmas with her. She wanted to spend this Christmas with the memories of her son, Sirius. Remus was the only one who would selflessly grant such a selfish wish of this old woman.

 _No parent should have to bury his or her child._

Remus came on the Christmas Eve and they spent the day talking about Sirius. Remus had invited his colleagues for dinner on that day with her permission at her cottage. She was preparing the dinner with Remus when they heard someone knock the door. Remus went to check and she could hear the voices of two men. She went out of kitchen and saw Severus Snape, her sons' nemesis from Hogwarts and some wizard with purple turban whom she thought must be Quirinus Quirrell. They both greeted her. Severus gave her a bottle of wine while Quirinus gifted her the Breakfast Buffet Basket from Dorcas' restaurant. She smiled and thanked them. She went back to the kitchen to fry fish for dinner while the three wizards were talking about some Dueling Championship.

Dinner was simple. Cabbage soup with mushrooms, fried fish, potato salad and shepherd's pie.

Remus looked at her sadly when he saw the pie. She understood that Remus knew why she had made it. She sat silently eating the dinner. Severus was taunting Remus on his gambling habits. Somehow, the topic shifted to Sirius Black.

"How… did you…. Get…. …Sirius.. Black? " asked Quirrell.

Euphemia, for the first time looked up and suddenly a small smile was gracing her lips, which didn't went unnoticed by the three wizards in her company.

"It's a secret, Quirinus, " said Remus with a wide smile.

"This Sirius Black is even more troublesome than his uncle. Well, at least this one hasn't tried to kill me yet," said Severus sneering.

"Really? Somehow,… I feel like….. my life is….. always in…. .danger in….. presence of…. .that kid," said Quirinus shaking his head.

Remus and Euphemia laughed.

"Sorry Mr. Quirrell. Your words just reminded me of someone, " said Euphemia.

"Just Quirinus ...is fine, Mrs. Potter. W...who did it... remind you of? " asked Quirrell.

"My son, Sirius, who died fighting Voldemort, " said Euphemia Potter.

"So….you…you… don't think..that…. Sirius Black was a… a.. Death Eater? " asked Quirrell

Euphemia Potter looked a bit angry and said, " Sirius is the last person on Earth that would join Voldemort. Sirius fought longer than anybody else for the equality of all but everyone refused to acknowledge his long struggle and declared him, a dark wizard. "

Quirrell replied, " It was….. not my…. My intention to make….. you angry,….. ….Mrs. Potter. I apologize. Not long…. ago, I was….was one of… the ignorant ones."

Euphemia saw Remus and Snape give surprised looks to Quirrell.

Quirrell continued, "You call him your ...so...son but wasn't S...Sirius heir of t...the Black family. "

Euphemia replied, " He left that family when he was sixteen. He was my son even before that. Fleamont and I loved him so much that we wanted to blood -adopt him so that he could inherit half of Potter wealth. We discussed it with the only decent adult in the Black family, Alphard. Alphard requested us not to do that so at least one decent wizard would be part of the Black family. As for inheritance, he told us that he had already named Sirius, his heir. We decided to respect Alphard 's wishes, so instead we casted an unbreakable vow to always treat Sirius like a real son. I was unable to come to terms with his death so I decided to live here. This cottage belonged to Sirius. "

She could see that three wizards were surprised to hear this story. Rest of dinner passed in silence.

They moved to living room where Snape picked up the letter on the side table and shamelessly decided to read her mail. Remus asked him to behave.

Snape said," Oh sorry, Mrs. Potter. I sometimes, act without thinking. Congratulations on being promoted though. "

Remus said in an excited voice," Aunt Euphemia, why didn't you tell me? "

Euphemia replied, "It slipped my mind, Remus. At first, I wasn't sure about accepting this promotion. They made me Chief Healer which comes with seat in St Mungos' Board of Directors. I didn't want to be in the same room as Walburgha Black. But apparently Walburgha had left her seat among board of directors few months ago and now Marlene Black is occupying that seat. So I accepted it."

Quirrell said," Chief Healer…..is….. is the…..the….. highest position….. in the St Mungos hospital. Congratulations….., Mrs. Potter. "

Euphemia thanked him.

Snape asked," Mrs. Potter, shouldn't one have some healing skill to be a St Mungos director. Walburgha Black is one of the best potioneer I have come across. But I never knew anything like that about Marlene Black. "

Euphemia replied, "We, McKinnons are a family that specializes in healing arts."

On seeing surprised looks on Snape and Quirrell, Euphemia smiled and said, " Yes, my full name is Euphemia Potter née McKinnon. Marlene's grandfather and my father were brothers. Marlene is an exceptional curse-breaker; that's why Walburgha was able to pass her seat to her daughter in law."

Remus sniggered," I remember how we used to tease James that he was following the Black family tradition by dating his cousin. "

Euphemia smiled while Snape laughed. Quirrell was looking thoughtful for some unknown reason.

Euphemia told them that she had attended the first board of directors meeting a week ago. The wizards asked what was discussed curiously.

Euphemia said," The Potion Stop has invented an 'automatic potion maker '. Horace gave presentation regarding the said invention. After which the board of directors discussed whether they should purchase it or not. The Potion Stop has offered to give fifty of these 'automatic potion makers ' to the hospital without any charge for testing. I am actually impressed."

Remus said," Severus also works for the Potion Stop. Severus, you didn't mention any automatic potion maker. "

Snape replied, " Because I didn't know about it. Mrs. Potter, if you don't mind can you tell us details about this potion maker. "

Euphemia told them all the details that had been presented before the board of directors.

Remus responded," Wow, that's some exceptional charms work."

Severus said, " I am not happy about it but Blacks, like always, exceed expectations. I didn't know they had hired a charms expert. I will ask Horace about it next time I meet him."

Quirrell added," But it's….. ..just for the time…. ..being that this can be….. exploited. Soon, everybody would be….. making these potion makers, once they find out what….. the Charms are."

Remus and Severus nodded while Euphemia laughed. They looked at her.

Euphemia replied, "You know they have filed for rights to those charms. Moreover, those charms are protected by the strongest wards possible."

Severus said, "Wards could be broken."

Euphemia replied, "But not if they are blood wards."

Remus said," Can blood wards be used this way, to protect charms?"

Euphemia said," Let's just say it's possible for one person, Orion Black. Orion Black may not win any duels against Dumbledore or Voldemort but even these two powerful wizards can't break the wards casted by Orion Black. He is just too good."

Quirrell looked extremely surprised and then blurted out," No wonder…. …that kid could…. Get….get through my wards so easily. "

Remus asked, "What are you talking about now?"

Quirrell replied, " Well, I warded my... turban ..since Sirius Black. ...is always trying to. ...burn it or freeze it. He even.. ...put termites inside my. ...turban once. So I decided to ward it, however, that kid got behind the... wards and well tried to kill m...me along with my turban."

Everybody laughed.

Euphemia said," You don't seem to feel too bad about it, Mr. Quirinus. "

Quirrell replied, " I actually…. admire that…. kid a lot. He has that…. spark for magic….. that I haven't seen in….. a very long time. "

To Remus and Quirrell 's surprise Snape agreed with Quirrell.

Snape said, "He is a genius when it comes to potions, too. Moreover, he is slippery as a snake and I have failed to catch him. It is my biggest regret this year that I haven't been able to give him detention."

Everybody laughed again.

Remus stood up and said," We should celebrate. Let me bring wine and glasses." With that, Remus left.

There was knock at the door. Euphemia was about to get up that Snape said that he would see who it is.

Euphemia heard James' voice asking Snape in an angry tone," What are you doing here? "

Snape replied, " I don't feel the need to tell you. "

Euphemia could feel that Snape was intentionally goading James.

James came in the living room and asked his mother angrily, "Mum, is that why you refused to attend party at Potter Manor because you wanted to spend the Christmas Eve with Snivellus. You said you were having dinner with a friend."

Before Euphemia could reply. Remus entered the living room. Euphemia saw all anger escape James on seeing Remus. There was shame in her son's eyes. She was happy to see that there was still some old James inside.

Remus said," Mr. Potter, Aunt Euphemia spent the Christmas Eve with me. I asked her if I could invite my friends for dinner and she agreed. "

Euphemia had seen hurt on James' face when Remus had called him, Mr. Potter.

James said in a low voice," You are friends with Snivellus? "

Remus replied, " Yes."

James was angry again and glaring Remus.

James said," You want to be friends with someone whose mission was to get us expelled, who sometimes used Dark Arts on us, who almost killed Padfoot once with his spell, who humiliated Peter in Hogwarts on Peter's Day. Does not anything matter to you now, Moony? Does past matter to you? "

Remus replied equally angry , " Did it ever matter to you, James? Don't you ever call me Moony again, you lost the right to call me that years ago. And don't ever bring up Padfoot again."

There was a feral gleam in Remus' eyes when he said the last sentence. He got up, kissed her and bid her goodbye after apologizing and promising that he would come again to celebrate her promotion.

After Remus left, Snape laughed evilly and said, " Well, well, well. James Potter is asking the friend he left because he was a 'dark creature ', not to make any more friends. I feel like a fool that I thought of you as my rival in Hogwarts. "

James said a low voice," Remus will always be my friend."

Snape replied venomously, "Then maybe you should see how you treat the people you call 'your friends'. Oh, if I recall correctly you called one of them your brother, too. Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Potter. Quirinus ,lets go."

Euphemia noticed that Quirell had been watching all this exchange with keen interest. There was no trace of shy, stuttering Quirell until Snape took his name. Quirell thanked her and excused himself.

She looked towards her son and saw a broken man. She hugged him and let him cry on her shoulders. She brought a piece of shephard's pie for James. They sat with each other in complete silence for an hour or two.

James finally said," Will you leave me, too?"

She knew James was talking about Sirius.

Euphemia replied," I can't do that even if I tried, James. You are my son and I will always love you. You are the most precious person in the world to me and nothing could ever change that."

James said," I want you to accompany us to the Christmas party being held by the Weasleys."

Euphemia replied, "I will. Tell me the details."

Euphemia Potter showed him her promotion letter. James was ecstatic. They shared a celebratory drink after which James left.

 **Lily Potter POV**

Lily Potter was taking a shower. She needed to get ready for the Christmas party being held at the Burrow. Like always, shower was the only time she could let tears fall without anyone noticing.

Lily Potter was crying, missing her best friend and confidant, Sirius Black. After death of Sirius, she also lost her love of her life, her husband. Ofcourse, James loved Sirius more than anyone in the world. She saw her husband change. Talking to James turned out to be futile. She decided to act as a snob. She acted as the most vain woman in the world. She acted like the most prejudiced person in the world. But she hardly got any response from James.

In the end, she decided to be a cruel woman. Lily thought that maybe making Remus go away would finally bring the Prongs she fell in love with back. Instead, no protest from James frustrated her more. The guilt she felt for what she did to Remus crushed her. For few months, she spied on Remus drinking Polyjuice Potion and using lots of perfume until she saw Mrs. Potter quite a few times taking care of Remus.

The shame she felt because of her treatment of Mrs. Potter was another thing crushing her soul. Even though it was because of James' attitude that Mrs. Potter left the Potter Manor but Lily didn't make it easy for her on her visits. Lily thought that James would reprimand her but Mrs. Potter was more than capable of dealing with her so James didn't feel the need to intervene.

James was an excellent husband and father. He did everything, Lily asked. The only time she got her Prongs and Padfoot's Prongs back was when the topic was Sirius Black. Even after death that man made her feel like a third wheel. Of course, she deliberately mentioned Sirius a few times but every time it resulted in a huge fight. Thinking that this would be bad for her son, she stopped doing it.

When Neville mentioned the pranks pulled by Regulus' son Sirius, she got her Prongs back. But Molly had to spoil everything. Molly Weasley was not a bad woman but she was extremely judgemental and opinionated thinking that she was always right. Alice's visits became far and few after that debacle and thus, she lost her last friend.

She left the house with Harry and went to her parents' home. James surprised her by coming to her and kissing her passionately. The Prongs was back. Lily couldn't be happier. But that didn't last long when Peter came up to their door, all beaten up, claiming to be the victim of the Blacks. When Peter told that Marlene's son had kicked him, Lily wanted to kick Peter out of their home. Lily knew Marlene's son would never do that. Besides knowing how Blacks always acted like aristocrats, James believed Peter but Lil didn't.

When it came to Peter, Lily didn't know what to believe. She firmly believed that Sirius Black was not a Death Eater. Peter's involvement in the whole chain of events was a mystery to her. The way Peter still hero-worshipped James despite being the Chosen One, made Lily deduce that Peter couldn't betray James.

The double persona took its toll and Lily knew that she has changed. She was now a biased, vain woman. So when Professor Slughorn offered her a job, she took it. It was her way of clinging to Her old self that she had lost. She realized now how foolish her way of trying to bring James back was. It would have been better if she had stayed true to herself like Mrs. Potter.

Lily got ready and walked into the living room. James and Harry were waiting for her. James smiled and told her that she was looking beautiful. Then they flooed to the Burrow.

At Burrow, they were warmly greeted by Arthur and Charlie. They had erected a tent in their garden. The tent was warm with a big table. Harry sat with Ron and the twins. James was talking to Bill who had come from Egypt to celebrate Christmas with his family.

After few minutes, they were joined by Mrs. Potter and Pettigrews. Diggorys and Tonks joined after that. Then Dinner was served.

"Ravenclaw team is the biggest threat this time around, " said Fred or George.

"How come? It's the Slytherins that we, Gryffindors need to be careful of. Besides, you guys said team was perfect now with Harry as a seeker," said Charlie.

Lily saw all occupants were now suddenly interested in school Quidditch.

"Well, Ravenclaw completely crushed Hufflepuff. And you can't even guess the score," said Fred or George.

"No offense, Tonks and Cedric but Hufflepuff has always been quite incompetent when it comes to Quidditch. And just tell the score instead of making me guess, " said Charlie.

Cedric replied, "460-130."

James, Bill, Charlie, Ted and Peter had awestruck expressions on their face.

"Ravenclaw is good, very good actually,ll " said James.

"They used dark arts I am sure. After all, Black is their captain," chimed Albus Pettigrew.

Lily had learnt about little Sirius Black being in Ravenclaw from newspaper. Daily Prophet had an article about the first Black ever to be sorted in Ravenclaw. Then there had been another article with a picture of Lockhart and Sirius about Sirius being the youngest Quidditich Captain in the history of Quidditch.

"I hardly doubt that they can use dark arts in a Quidditch match. Professor Flitwick won't ever approve such tactics, " said Lily.

"Leaving Albus' conspiracy theory aside, their Chasers are excellent," said Fred or George.

"Don't forget the fact that they all have new broomsticks, the latest in Nimbus series, "said the other twin.

"That must be how that dark wizard got spot on the team, bribing the team with new broomsticks, " said Ron.

"I also think that, " Harry agreed with Ron.

Bill said in an irritated tone," Fred just said that Ravenclaw has excellent Chasers. The news article said that he was a Chaser so he must be good. Just don't criticize, consider the facts."

Molly Weasley looked angrily at her oldest son.

Charlie added, "And like Aunt Lily said, Professor Flitwick won't let them do whatever they want."

One of the twins said," His broomstick is amazing, too. It's not Nimbus. I wonder if it's custom made."

Albus Pettigrew added," I am sure he used dark arts on the broomstick to make it faster. "

"Would that even be dark arts? You kids should learn the difference instead of blaming the kid for using dark arts," said Bill.

Lily saw that Bill was kind of protective of Sirius Black. She wondered why.

"If Professor Flitwick is so dependable, how come he never stops Black from bullying us," defended Ron.

Bill looked towards twins for answer but instead Percy said," These four are having a prank war with Black."

"Not to mention terribly losing it, too," snickered Charlie.

"We are actually ashamed that we haven't been able to prank him even once, " said one of the twins good naturedly while Harry and Ron looked at him angrily.

James was surprised but hid it well like Lily. Apparently, their son had not been completely honest about this prank war.

Arthur sensing that atmosphere could get bad tried changing the subject.

"How are your studies going? Harry, I heard you are one of the best in class," said Arthur.

"Well, except for potions everything is going well. The best in our year is Granger though," said Harry.

"Granger? Never heard of that name," asked Dolores.

"She is a Muggle born, " said Harry.

Dolores made a voice of discontent.

"I am sure Albus isn't being bested by some muggle born witch in his year," said Dolores.

Lily knew Dolores considered muggles lower than the purebloods and half boolds ; but she had learnt to ignore it.

James said sarcastically," Well, I am sure he is busy being bested by the Black kid."

"My kid is Gryffindor like me not some bookworm like the Ravenclaws," said Peter in a defensive tone.

Peter and James glared at each other.

"That reminds me, Lily, how is your potion making job going? I still find it hard to believe that the Blacks hired you, " said Dolores.

"Professor Slughorn hired me not the Blacks. And it's going well," said Lily.

"But still to think that some muggle born witch is working for the Black's shop.. " said Dolores.

James, Arthur and Peter glared at Dolores

Before she could continue Mrs. Potter cut her off and said," Arthur, is that Odgen's Finest Firewhisky? "

Everybody at the table looked at Mrs. Potter surprised.

Arthur replied, "Yes, it is. A gift from Peter and Dolores. "

Mrs Potter looked towards the couple and said," You sure know your firewhisky. Odgen's are the best."

Dolores said proudly, "Of course, best of everything for us,Pettigrews. "

Mrs. Potter smiled and said," My great great grandfather was acquaintance of Odgen's family. Mr. Odgen was a Muggle born wizard."

Dolores flushed and looked away. Even if Mrs. Potter had said everything kindly, she had made her point. Lily saw James look at her mother proudly.

Dinner, after that was rather quiet except for kids discussing how the Puddlemere United had crushed Chudley Cannons.

After dinner, James and Harry told lily and Mrs. Potter that they had a surprise for them and told them to floo to Leaky Cauldron instead of home. Diagon Alley was certainly a sight to behold with all the Christmas decorations.

They took both the ladies to the Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour in the North side of Diagon Alley.

Most of the shops were closed on the way. The Ice Cream parlor was decorated beautifully. Red and green fairies were flying here and there. There was transparent tent outside the shop for the customers. Even a small terrace with a large table had been magically placed. Lily was sure that view from the terrace would be breathtakingly alluring.

Lily waited with Harry and Mrs. Potter at the entrance while James went to secure a table for them. The tent was almost full. Lily could see almost all of the prominent wizarding world families. The atmosphere was festive and warm.

James came back and took them to a table, telling them that he tried for table at the terrace but it's already reserved for some other family. They sat at the table and ordered their ice cream.

James said, "Today, they are selling new charmed ice creams, Christmas special. When I told Harry about it, he wanted to treat you both to it."

Despite Lily's rude behavior towards Mrs. Potter, she was happy that her son always got along with his grandmother. Mrs. Potter was Harry's favorite person and Harry loved making her smile.

Mrs. Potter smiled brightly at Harry and thanked him.

They were having a general conversation that they heard the owner of the shop say loudly, " Welcome to the chief guest of the evening."

Almost everyone in the tent looked towards the entrance and saw the Black family. The owner of the parlor, however, was looking at Sirius Black. Lily saw the kid who was looking more and more like his uncle with each passing day. She wondered if he was reincarnation of their Sirius Black. Marlene was looking beautiful and young like she hadn't aged at all. Regulus was handsome as always. Lord and Lady Black accompanying the family were as usual sophisticated and aristocratic.

As Blacks neared their table, the owner of the parlor came up to them.

The owner said cheerfully ," Since Sirius is my chief guest today, I have reserved the best table for him and his family."

He then pointed towards the terrace.

Lily saw that Harry was scowling. James was trying to act aloof. Mrs. Potter, however, was smiling kindly at the kid.

Marlene asked him, "And why is he your chief guest, Florean? What did he do this time?"

Instead of Florean, Sirius replied, "I was in Hogwarts, Mom. What exactly do you think I could do? Send him exploding dragon dung using my owl?"

Marlene gave him a look and said,"Yeah, sure you were. "

Bellatrix and Narcissa came up to the Blacks with their families. When the two witches greeted the little Black heir, Lily saw that they actually loved him. Lily never thought that these two were capable of loving anyone. She had seen the hatred directed by them at Padfoot. When she saw real love shining in their eyes, Lily wanted to stuff all ice cream down their throats and choke them.

Formalities were being exchanged. Many other families were now getting up to meet the Blacks.

She heard Regulus say to his son," Did you make these charms for ice cream or just passed along to Florean? "

Sirius replied, "Just passed along. The old Rowle witch from the portrait told me all about them."

Regulus said, "That annoying old bat always try to tell me about Dark Arts. I never thought she would make something normal like ice cream charms."

Sirius said, "Yeah, well, it's best not to tell Uncle Florean that the witch actually invented these spells because the Dark Lord she was in love with liked ice cream. "

Regulus snickered while a woman's voice came from behind them, "Are you serious? "

Sirius smirked and said, "Since the day I was born, Godmother. "

James and Mrs. Potter suppressed their laughter while Harry was looking oddly at them.

Dorcas said," It's not funny. And why are we standing here? What is this crowd ahead?"

Sirius replied, "This crowd is compromised of people wanting to greet the most Noble Black family. "

Dorcas laughed.

Sirius then looked behind her and said," It's good to see that you are without your boyfriend for once."

Dorcas narrowed her eyes and said," Well, he was with the Minister when I left the party. And you still talk about him like that when he has been helping you at the school. "

Sirius replied, "I won't deny that he has been helpful but still he is the worst DADA Professor, I have ever encountered. "

Dorcas replied, "Considering the fact that this is your first year, how many have you encountered?"

Sirius shrugged her off.

"Roy praised you in front of the Minister and the Ambassadors. He said you are just like him when he was a student. "

Sirius gave her a displeasing look.

Regulus, who had finished talking to Lucius Malfoy, looked at Dorcas and said," I am not sure whether that should be considered as praising my son. Don't tell me you have forgotten how Lockhart was in Hogwarts, Dorcas. "

Dorcas said," He has changed. "

Sirius and Regulus said together, "Nobody changes that much. "

They both looked at each other and laughed.

James looked pointedly at Lily and laughed silently.

Dorcas sighed and said," You both remind me of Sirius and his best friend. They both.. "

The look on Regulus' face made her stop.

"Just how many people want to talk to them? " said Sirius changing the topic.

"Well, we did have a private Christmas declining all invitations, " said Regulus.

"Let's cast disillusionment charm on ourselves and get to the table," said Sirius.

Regulus smiled and took out his wand but was stopped by Moody.

"I sometimes wonder about your role in the mischief making, your son indulges in," said Moody.

Moody ruffled Sirius' hair and looked at the boy. Lily saw that even Moody loved the kid.

James got up to go and greet Moody.

Regulus turned away and pretended to talk to Dorcas while Sirius kept looking at James, when James greeted Moody.

After small talk, Moody said to Sirius, " This idiot used to be your Uncle's best friend."

James closed his eyes and took a deep breath while Sirius kept looking at him.

After the pause, Sirius said," 'Used to be ' being the most important part. "

Just then Marlene joined them and gave an annoyed look to her cousin. Marlene's eyes, then landed on their table and when they met Mrs. Potter, Marlene smiled. Marlene walked towards their table with her son. James was tagging behind.

Marlene ignored Lily and hugged Mrs. Potter.

Marlene then introduced her son to Mrs. Potter, " Aunt Mia, meet my son, Sirius Black. Sirius, this is your grandmother from my side of the family, Euphemia Potter. "

Sirius smiled at Mrs. Potter and greeted her. Mrs. Potter hugged him which made Harry scowl. Sirius thanked her for the Christmas gifts. Lily was ssurprised along with her husband and son on hearing that Mrs. Potter had sent Christmas gift to Sirius.

Mrs. Potter said," Sirius, meet my grandson, Harry. You must know him from Hogwarts. "

Sirius smirked at Harry and said," Of course, Mrs. Potter. "

Harry glared at Sirius.

Just then Regulus came up to them and told them to move to the terrace after briefly greeting Mrs. Potter.

After the Blacks has left, James said," I didn't know that you were on speaking terms with Marls."

"Well, we got together after the first St Mungos meeting. James, I hope you won't ask me to stop talking to her. She and I are the only McKinnons left."

James sighed and said, "I won't ask for such a thing. "

Harry made a loud noise and all adults at the table looked at him.

"What is so special about that annoying Black kid?" said Harry angrily.

"What do you mean? " asked Lily.

"Why do you all love him?" said Harry.

"What? What gave you that idea? We didn't even talk to the kid" asked James.

"The way you, mom and grandmother look at him," said Harry.

When Harry said this James looked into Lily's eyes. Lily averted her eyes.

Lily said," Harry, you don't have time be unhappy about this because nobody here loves anyone more than you. You will always be the most important person to us."

Mrs. Potter smiled at her and then ruffled Harry ' s hair.

Harry pouted and said," But you also love him."

Lily was reminded again how perceptive kids could be.

Lily replied a bit sarcastically , " We don't, Harry. Remember your father changed the family motto. "

It took a moment for Lily to realize her mistake.

James was looking away, rubbing his neck. Lily knew he was only pretending that he hadn't heard what Lily had said.

Mrs. Potter was just smiling looking at her family. When their eyes met, Lily knew that Mrs. Potter had seen through her. Mrs. Potter knew all about Lily 's decade long charade now.

Just then Neville came up to meet them with some other kids that Lily didn't recognize. They introduced themselves as Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas.

"Harry, you should have come to the Longbottom Manor for the Christmas party. It was one of the best Christmas for us. Almost all of the Gryffindors in our year and some of the seniors were there," said Seamus.

"We had already accepted invitation from the Ron's family, " said Harry.

"Mrs. Longbottom has promised us that she will arrange similar party for us again. You should come then," said Dean.

"Though Neville was sad that Black had declined the invitation, " said Seamus snickering.

"Even the girls were quite disappointed, " said Dean.

Seamus laughed and said," To think that even bookworm Granger would have a crush on Black."

Harry said,"Really? "

"Yes, we heard her asking Neville about Black," said Seamus.

"I would prefer if you don't spread such far-fetched rumors, Seamus, "said a girl with bushy hair from behind.

"Finally, we have a common ground with Hermione on something, " said another girl with a pale skin from behind.

Another girl who looked Indian, giggled.

They introduced themselves as Hermione Granger, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patel.

"Oh, we also met Sirius Black's mother. She came to meet Mrs. Longbottom. She even gave all of us, Christmas presents. She is so beautiful," said Parvati.

Harry scowled and said," Hmph, trying to buy friends for her son. After all, he doesn't have any friends. "

Mrs. Potter said, "Marlene isn't like that. She had liked giving Christmas gifts ever since she was a kid."

Harry tried to say something but Neville cut him off, "Harry, it's not that he doesn't have any friends, Sirius just doesn't want to be friends with anyone. And even if he doesn't consider anybody his friend, many people consider him friend and I am one of them."

Harry scowled more.

Lavender said," I want to be his friend. I tried to talk to him but was completely ignored. "

Parvati snickered and said," I would rather be his girlfriend."

Lily saw the annoyed looks on boys' face.

Dean said," So in the end, you all will end up fighting for Black."

Three girls looked at each other.

Hermione said," That would be problematic. "

Parvati said, " Let's make sure that Sirius doesn't get any other girlfriend while he is in Hogwarts. "

Lavender replied, "Yes. For now, we will make sure no other girl gets close to him."

Parvati said,"One of us should keep an eye on him. Hermione, you are with us in this, right?"

Hermione looked perplexed for a moment and then nodded.

James cleared his throat.

Girls at once remembered where they were and what they were discussing. The girls became red with embarrassment while Lily and Mrs. Potter laughed.

Neville, too laughed and said," You girls can make a Sirius Black fan club. I am sure that Sirius' expression would be quite amusing on hearing that."

Lily was sharing amused looks with Mrs. Potter and James. Lily was thinking how all girls including herself had a crush on their Sirius Black at Hogwarts.

Just then Sirius' voice said," Nev, you should be careful about using me as source of amusement."

Neville brightened up on hearing Sirius' voice. Girls had a panicked look on their face. Lily was sure that they were wondering if Sirius Black had heard their plans. However, panic didn't last long and as they turned around to see Sirius. Their expression was like of a child who just got the best Christmas present.

Lily realized that Neville was better friends with Sirius than Harry. Neville had a look that showed he really respected Sirius a lot.

Seamus and Harry seemed annoyed while Dean was curious. Sirius Black, however, completely ignored everyone there except Neville.

"Sirius, why didn't you come to the party? " asked Neville.

"Forget about that. Where is Aunt Alice? Our grandmothers are seconds away from throwing ice cream at each other and I don't think mom can handle them alone," said Sirius.

Neville laughed.

"What about Uncle Regulus? He isn't there?," asked Neville hurriedly.

"He finds it too amusing to stop them," said Sirius.

" And you don't? " said Neville with a smirk.

"Ah well, I might be the reason that they are about to start an ice-cream fight but let's not get into such petty details, " said Sirius.

Lily covered her mouth with her hand so nobody could see how she was biting her cheek to hide her grin.

"And you ran away because of Aunt Marlene, " Neville snorted with laughter.

A Chinese girl came up behind Sirius preventing them to continue the conversation.

"Sirius, what are you doing here? ," said the Chinese girl cheerfully.

Sirius turned around and said, "Miss Chang, I think I am here for the same reason as everybody else, to eat ice-cream. "

Lily saw that Harry suddenly sat up straight when he saw that Chinese girl. Lily and James looked at each other and silently snickered.

The three Gryffindor girls were not happy to see 'miss Chang'.

Chang then greeted Neville.

Loud voice of another boy in an amused tone said," Esteemed heir of Slytherin, our Quidditch team Captain has finally graced us with his presence. Let's bow, you common folks."

Lily saw four boys laughing and mock-bowing in front of Sirius.

Sirius laughed that bark like laughter and Lily saw James become tensed at once.

"How long are you guys going to keep this up? " asked Sirius.

"Until the other teams believe that you will petrify them during Quidditch matches, " said a tall boy.

Harry was looking Chang and then Sirius. Lily could see that even Miss Chang had a crush on Sirius. Even though Sirius was only eleven years old, he was tall for his age and he was the cutest boy with perfect hair and face and beautiful eyes. Everybody looking at him knew that he would grow up to have impossibly good looks like his Uncle Sirius.

These boys dragged Sirius away.

Harry said angrily, "What does girls see in him, anyway? "

"He is so cute, Harry," said Lavender.

"Yes and younger than you," said Harry.

"You are also younger than Cho but that doesn't stop you from ogling her," said Parvati.

Harry flushed while all others laughed or snickered.

"And you don't have to worry about Cho and Sirius getting together. Sirius doesn't care about her that way," said Hermione.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Harry.

All adults were listening to the conversation exchanging looks of amusement.

"Because I watch Sirius.. " Just then Hermione stopped noticing her slip of tongue.

She changed her sentence but her classmates had already noticed, "I mean I often see him in the library and there are only two girls that he talks with. "

"Which two girls?" asked Lavender and Parvati together.

"Hermione, I just hope that you noticed it randomly and you are not stalking him," said Neville in a concerned tone.

"Neville, I am not stalking him. I just observed this while looking at my surroundings," said Hermione.

"Who cares if she is stalking him? Hermione, tell us who those girls are?" said Lavender.

"It's Luna and Milly, even I know that but they are just his acquaintances, nothing more. And you girls don't even think about stalking him if you don't want to end up like Harry, Ron and Albus."

"What do you mean like us?" Harry protested weakly.

"I agree with Neville. I don't think it would be good for these girls to fall in love with Argus Filch like you did Harry," said Dean.

Lily realized that her son had omitted quite a few details about his school year this time.

"My favorite one was when all three of them turned in to green hairy monsters, "added Seamus.

"You are losing the prank war?" asked James, completely baffled.

"Losing? They haven't successfully pranked Black even once," said Dean.

"Because of their war, even we are suffering the wrath of Black. To be suddenly transported to the Black Lake while eating breakfast is not fun " said Seamus.

James looked towards his mother and said like a lost child," Son of James Potter is losing the prank war. "

Mrs. Potter rubbed her hand on her son's back trying to console him.

Lily was smiling seeing Prongs after a long time.

Kids were looking at James with confused expressions.

Lily said to the kids," James used to be one of the best prankster in Hogwarts. "

Everybody including Harry gave her disbelieving looks.

"What?" Lily asked.

"It's just that Percy is always going on about how he idealizes Mr. Potter for his perfect behavior and serious demeanor, whole Gryffindor tower knows that by now," said Neville.

"Yeah, and I haven't seen Daddy doing anything fun, " said Harry.

Alice came up and said, " Here you all are. Your parents are waiting for you. "

Alice then greeted the Potters.

Neville told her about the ice-cream fight. Alice laughed and left to take care of her mother in law.

The children bid goodbye to them.

The Potters ate their ice-cream and left. Lily asked Mrs. Potter to stay for the night. Mrs. Potter declined but told her that they should meet for lunch some day.

Lily saw Prongs scolding his son for failing so abysmally in the prank war. Lily laughed at the two Potter men. They both looked at her and started laughing.

It was the best Christmas that Lily had had in a long time.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-()/##:: #()/

Next Chapter: Rest of first year. Training with Remus which isn't much of a training , Valentine's Day with Bronte Charles, Dueling Championship, Forbidden Forest trip with the four eccentric Professors of Hogwarts etc etc


	8. Chapter 8

The Other World

SUMMARY:

Sirius Black son of Orion Black falls through The Veil and is reborn as Sirius Black son of Regulus Black in the other world. And well, wherever Sirius goes, Sirius is Sirius.

Author's Note: Italics are thoughts of people when story is from their POV. English is not my native language.

THANKS for reviewing and everybody who favorited or followed the story despite its shortcomings

This chapter is dedicated both to **all the people who reviewed and favorited this story .**

 **I apologize for the long delay. I was v ill.**

 **If there are English mistakes, kindly point them out..I ll correct them.**

Thanks a lot

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 **Sirius Black POV**

It was time to go back to Hogwarts. Sirius felt well rested. He sat in the last compartment of the train alone as usual. He again had the pleasure of pranking PPW on their way towards Hogwarts. Nevertheless, Sirius noticed that Harry didn't hold the same angry expression, he always had when he looked at Sirius.

 _Must be because of his grandmother._

First day back, Remus approached him. Remus, happily, showed him the letter from Ministry about the approval of the wolf insignia as his family crest. Sirius could see that his old friend was delighted at the prospect of spending time with his friend's reincarnation. Sirius thought about using this opportunity to become close to Quirrell, too. The same day he talked to Luna in their Common Room about her Christmas gift.

"Luna, I know you know that these are powerful magical items. Are you sure, you want me to have these? They are priceless. They are from the Magical Creatures that are extinct," said Sirius.

Luna replied with a smile, "If I didn't want you to have them, why would I gift them to you? Somehow, I know that they are powerful and I think you are the only person who can handle power well."

 _Of course, Luna doesn't know about her powers. In addition, I am not the right person to tell her either._

Sirius teasingly asked, "Do you even know what they are?"

Luna said, " No, I don't."

Sirius said, "This black fang is horn of unicorn, this is a thestral hair and this is blood of wyvern."

Luna seemed quite excited to learn this.

Luna said excitedly, "You can use them to make a powerful wand."

Sirius smiled and replied, "Do you want me to make a wand for you from these items?"

Luna replied,"No, I love my wand. Mr. Ollivander told me that mine and his destinies are entangled."

Sirius had no idea what Luna was saying but he knew that the wand Luna was using was made by him.

The list of participants of the Dueling Championship was announced at the end of first week. Sirius was wondering why Quirrell had chosen Rat Jr. He found the answer soon when he went to meet Remus on their first training session. When they met in an empty classroom, Sirius saw that they weren't alone but accompanied by Quirrell, Lockhart and Snivellus.

Remus said," Your other teachers wanted to see what we do during our training session. "

Sirius replied, "They don't have to train their own champions?"

Quirrell said," I don't think I will be training my champion at all. I just chose him because he annoys me."

Remus gave him reprimanding look and said, " Why choose him at all?"

Snivellus answered "He wants him to lose badly in the first duel to tone down that kid's attitude, you know the way he behaves like he rules the world."

Lockhart added," Well, his father had bet around fifty thousand galleons that his son will win the championship. "

Snivellus replied, "Yeah, that's because of this werewolf actually. Few days after Christmas, we met at Diagon Alley and the Chosen One was there, too. He intentionally said loudly so that Pettigrew could hear that Quirrell was even a better teacher than Dumbledore when it came to dueling and his champion had the highest chances of winning."

Sirius was listening to the conversation of his teachers and internally snorting.

Quirrell said, "Well, it's no different than when Remus was telling Trelawny that as per his tea-leaves, she should bet on PPW. And the poor woman lost two hundred galleons."

Sirius couldn't help but laugh at hearing this.

Remus cleared his throat and said," I don't think it's appropriate for the students to know such details. "

Sirius laughed even harder.

Snivellus said," It's not like you were thinking of training him properly. I am sure you two would just carry out mischief. Wonder what you will be up to?"

Sirius said before he could stop himself," I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Quirrell and Lockhart laughed while Snivellus gave him a hard look.

Remus' eyes reflected pain and he asked, "Where did you learn that?"

Sirius lied, "I read a letter from my Uncle to his friend , Prongs or something."

Remus gave Sirius a sad smile.

Lockhart said," What are we going to teach Sirius today?"

Snivellus said, "What do you mean by 'we'? I am only here to watch him make a fool of himself. "

Quirrell said, "Really? Weren't you praising him on Christmas eve? Remus, if I recall correctly he said that 'Sirius is a genius ', right?"

Snivellus gave a venomous look to Quirrell . And Sirius was sure that if looks could kill then Quirrell would have been dead by now.

Remus chuckled, "Yes, you are right, Quirinus. "

Snivellus said in an angry tone, "I said no such thing."

Sirius gave his best Marauder smirk to Snivellus, to which he just scowled and left dragging Lockhart with him.

Remus said ,"Quirinus, I hope you are ready for Severus' reprisal. "

Quirrell just shrugged it off.

Sirius thought it was a good time to become friendly with Quirrell.

Sirius said, "Professor Quirrell, if you want I can charm your robes with shield charm. It would protect you from majority of spells unless Snivellus decides to use unforgivables on you."

Quirrell snorted, "Snivellus? "

Remus lightly slapped on the back of Sirius 'head and said in an amused tone, "It's professor Snape and stop reading letters of your Uncle. They are private."

Sirius rubbed the back of his head and said playfully, "Oh, Come on, Moony. I have the same name. I live in his room. I use his wand. "

Remus smiled brightly on hearing his nickname from Sirius.

Sirius saw Quirrell give a cautious look to his wand. Sirius snickered.

Sirius said, " So should I charm your robes, Professor Quirrell? "

By now, Sirius had gauged that Quirrell didn't hold any grudge against him for his pranks.

Quirrell looked at him suspiciously and said, " How can I be sure you won't set them on fire?"

Remus laughed while Sirius pointed his wand at Quirrell and casted the spell. Quirrell, instinctively, yelped and tried to move away but it was too late and spell hit him. Quirrell frantically checked his robes.

Sirius said,"Calm down, Professor. I only charmed your robes with shield charm."

Quirrell calmed down a little.

Remus said,"So let's check your charms work."

Remus threw a spell at Quirrell which was deflected by his robes. Quirrell seemed genuinely happy.

Quirrell thanked Sirius and asked him to teach him the charm.

So the training session was spent teaching Remus and Quirrell how to charm the robes with shield charm.

At the end, Remus laughed and said, "Instead of training you, we are getting trained by you."

Sirius laughed and left.

For some unknown reasons, teachers had suddenly become obsessed with homework. Sirius was sitting in library listening to Neville complain about homework.

Snivellus, too, was lurking in the restricted section of the library . He was soon joined by Quirrel and Remus. Sirius was wondering as to what they were searching when once again Hermione interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Are you a prince?" asked Hermione.

Neville snorted with laughter while Sirius gave her a confused look and said, "Pardon. "

"Are you a prince?" said Hermione again holding up a book titled "Pureblood Families and their secrets" to show Sirius and Neville.

Sirius replied, "The only prince I know in the wizarding world is Sni.. I mean Professor Snape."

Hermione gave him a befuddled look and said," Professor Snape is a prince?"

Unbeknownst to Hermione, Sirius saw that Snivellus had heard Hermione's statement.

Sirius replied looking at Snivellus, "Yes, you can ask him. He is just standing behind you."

Hermione dropped the book and turned backwards.

"Yes, Miss Granger. I am the last Prince alive from my mother's side. Though instead of researching about your teachers' families, you should concentrate on your homework. Your grades have fallen," said Snivellus in a cold voice.

Sirius also noticed how Snivellus was avoiding looking at Neville.

Remus came out of the restricted section with an old book and called Snivellus to see it.

Snivellus moved his head weirdly and went away.

"Professor Snape is a prince," said Hermione with a mortified look.

"Why are you suddenly interested in the prince family, anyway?" asked Neville.

Hermione replied," This book said that many Pureblood Families have royal titles. I though Sirius Black must be a prince since it said that Black family holds the highest royal title."

Finally, Sirius and Neville understood what kind of Prince was Hermione talking about. They both laughed.

Sirius said in an amused tone " You know you can also call Professor Snape, His Royal Highness, Prince Severus Snape. Everybody in the Pureblood circle does."

Hermione said," Really? "

Neville replied ,hiding his grin, "Yes."

Sirius added, " That is one of the reasons, Neville and I don't get detentions. And His Royal Highness is right, stop reading these Pureblood family books and focus on learning magic. You have potential of being better than many of those Pureblood, you keep obsessing over. "

Hermione had a look of pure delight on her face and said,"You really think so?"

Just then Robert entered library before Sirius could reply and gave an annoyed look to Hermione.

Hermione didn't miss it and left their table. Robert came and sat with them. Robert asked what they were talking about at which both Sirius and Neville laughed.

"Leave that, tell me how are you coping with homework," said Sirius.

"Don't even ask. I feel like my hand will fall off," said Robert.

"So guys, I was thinking of charming a quill to write what I read. You know the quills used by those journalists, "said Sirius.

"Why didn't I think of it? I will just buy one of those," said Robert.

"Can't you charm the quill to automatically write essays? You know like you put data of different books in a quill. You understand what I am talking about? "Neville hinted.

Sirius replied," Nev, that's actually a wonderful idea."

Sirius took a quill and tried charming it putting data of the transfiguration book. He was so lost in his charms work that he had forgotten about the three teachers who were lurking in the library and had apparently heard their conversation.

Sirius said after some time,"Nev, check this quill. Tap thrice with your wand and say some topic."

Neville asked, "What topic?"

Robert said, " Try asking it to write about inanimate transfiguration."

Neville did that and quill started writing all the text which had phrase 'inanimate transfiguration' in it.

Robert and Sirius high-fived each other. Then doing the same with Neville. This earned them a scolding from the librarian and she asked them to leave the library.

A voice interrupted," Leave these students to me, Madam Pince."

A sneering Snivellus came into the view.

Snivellus said," So from what I can understand, you three charmed a quill for cheating."

Remus came behind and said," Leave that, Severus. We have that bet with Filius and Lockhart to worry about? "

Severus picked up the quill and said,"Let's take them to the Headmaster and also call their Head of Houses."

Quirrell also joined and said," Let's just confiscate the quill. Why do something bothersome like going to the Headmaster? "

Snivellus said, "Because he thinks that we give preferential treatment to Mr. Black. Besides, I feel like annoying that old man."

Remus replied, "You can annoy him about something else. Kids , we are taking this quill and you won't charm the again. Now go."

Remus gave a look to three boys at which Sirius, Neville and Robert left hurriedly before Snivellus could stop them again.

Once safe distance from library, Neville said," So automatic essay writing quill is a 'no'. Snivellus will now tell other teachers and they will look out for it when checking homework. "

Sirius sighed and said," But still we can Charm the quill to write what we read. That won't be cheating or anything. "

Robert nodded and said, "Charm few of my quills. I also want to use it to take notes in History of Magic class."

Neville said," That's actually a nice idea."

Sirius said, "You will get your quills tomorrow." With that he bid them goodbye and left.

Soon, the rumours of Prince Severus Snape spread like a wildfire. Weasley twins , whenever, they saw Snivellus they called him His Royal Greasiness. Sirius did hear from Neville that Hermione had been given a week of detention by Snivellus on just being annoying know-it-all.

After few days, Sirius was checking out the books that he had taken from Bathilda Bagshot's vault. His eyes fell on an old tome. He picked it up and opened it. He was so surprised by the name of author that he accidentally dropped it. The book was titled, 'Godric's Guide to Controlling Magical Creatures by Godric Gryffindor'. Unlike Helga Hufflepuff tome, this was not charmed and anybody could read it.

 _Books of two of the founders. I just got very lucky._

In his enthusiasm, Sirius spent the whole night reading as much as possible. The more he read, the more he was getting disappointed in Godric Gryffindor.

 _Why was he so obsessed with controlling and enslaving the magical creatures?_

Sirius decided to pay a visit to the hat. After all, the hat belonged to Godric Gryffindor. Sirius spent next few days spying on Dumbledore to get a know-how of his schedule. He found that it was only during meal times that he would have enough time to talk to the hat. So next day, he skipped dinner and went to Dumbledore 's office. He got the password on his third try.

He didn't want the portraits to tell the Headmaster that he had been sneaking in to his office. He cast a disillusionment charm on himself and decided to steal the hat thinking he would return it after a day or two. He cast a silencing charm on the hat and took it to his dorm room. Then he hurriedly went to the Great Hall for dinner to avoid suspicion.

After dinner, he went to his dorm room, locked and silenced it. Then he lifted the spell from the hat. The hat angrily told him that he shouldn't have put a silencing charm on it.

Sirius apologised and asked about the Grryfindor's obsession with magical creatures.

The hat remained silent for a few minutes and then began it's story.

"Godric and Salazar were both brilliant wizards. They were apprentice of the same master who taught them the art of magic. It was evident that Godric excelled in Transfiguration while Salazar was a master in potions. Both were extremely competitive and went to great lengths to earn the praise of their master. Salazar had a special gift that he could talk to the snakes and control them. This made Godric feel inferior. What Godric didn't know was that Salazar felt the same. Godric after completing his apprenticeship became obsessed with controlling magical creatures while Salazar became obsessed with transfiguration. Godric traveled far and wide and created spells to control all the magical creatures he came across. He went so far in his ambitions that he enslaved the entire race of creatures now called house-elves for eternity." Said the hat.

Sirius wanted to interrupt but stopped himself.

The hat continued, "I know what you are thinking . Yes, it was Godric Grryfindor who started the system of house-elves and the first ones to use that system was the Black family. The name of the master of Godric and Salazar was Aldebaran Sirius Black. "

 _Oh great! In every dark story, Blacks are bound to make an appearance._

"Salazar went on his own journey to learn every art of transfiguration. People of now don't know but the one who developed the art of animagus was Salazar Slytherin. Godric gradually realized that what he had been doing was wrong. He saw the error of his ways and started to change his ways. He started repenting for his sins by helping the creatures with the help of his new friend, Helga Hufflepuff. But both of them were unable to end the magic enslaving the house-elves. In their quest, they met Rowena Ravenclaw who was able to add some aspects of free will in the house-elves but was unable to end the magic. Godric finally decided to contact the most talented wizard he had ever known, Salazar Slytherin. Salazar and Godric met again. The four became friends. Even with Salazar's wit, they weren't able to break that magic. Truth is Salazar might have been able to end the magic but he never found anything wrong with it and thought of it as extremely useful. Godric became a preacher of equality among all. Salazar, however, adhered to the purity of blood. You must be thinking how I know about Salazar's thoughts. When I was chosen for selecting students for each house, the founders poured their essence in me which gave me access to their thoughts and actions," explained the hat.

Sirius blinked a few times and said rubbing his forehead, "If Godric Grryfindor considered his research such a bad thing, how come he never destroyed it."

"The knowledge, whether good or bad, should never be destroyed; it was a principle engraved in the soul of Salazar and Godric. It was the first thing their master taught them. And not everybody can read this book. Only the people who hate controlling others and who hate being controlled can read it. Godric did made a mistake of sharing his research with Salazar. It was through Godric's research that Salazar got the idea of controlling human beings and invented the imperius curse," said the hat.

Sirius was trying to absorb all the history that hat had just told him.

"Oh and if it makes you happy ,the Black lake was named after their master, your ancestor," said the hat.

Sirius snorted at this.

"It would be nice to spend a few days in a new place," said the hat.

Sirius just smiled and went to his bed to sleep .

The next morning, it was announced how someone had stolen the sorting hat and the culprit would be punished severely if they do not return it by next day. Sirius decided not to return the hat until the end of the year just to annoy the Headmaster and staff. He knew that he was the prime suspect. But what he didn't know was that even Remus and Snivellus were being considered as suspects until he heard Dumbledore asking them.

Sirius turned around the corner and heard Dumbledore saying," Remus , Severus, if you took the hat to have some fun or something, kindly return it."

Severus sneered," And what kind of fun do you think we can actually have with an old hat, Albus? "

Remus added, "Albus, I am noticing this pattern of yours. Whenever something happens, you think we are the culprits. Is there a reason behind this?"

Dumbledore replied," I apologize Remus for suspecting you but it's only because I feel that I no longer know you two."

Remus rolled his eyes.

Severus gave a hard look to Dumbledore and said," It's not that you don't know us. It's just you feel like you have lost two pawns."

Dumbledore said," I never thought of you as pawns."

Remus sighed and said," We are drifting from the topic. Anyway, Albus, we didn't steal the hat."

With that Remus went away. Severus followed him after a few seconds.

Dumbledore, however, stood there and took a long breath.

"How long do you plan on staying there, Mr. Black? I suppose you heard the whole conversation, " said Dumbledore turning and looking at Sirius.

Sirius cursed himself for not going away fast enough and replied," Sorry Headmaster, it was not my intention to eavesdrop. "

Dumbledore smiled and said, "It's ok, Mr, Black. What would be your answer if I asked the same question to you?"

Sirius said," I hardly doubt I can be your pawn. I don't do well when people try to control me."

Dumbledore laughed and said," Not about being pawn but about the hat, Mr. Black. "

Sirius said, "Oh! Question is not whether I stole the hat or not, Headmaster. Question is whether you will believe my answer or not."

Dumbledore said ," Your prefer to answer with riddles rather than give a straightforward answer."

 _Yeah, I learnt that from you, old man._

Sirius smiled and replied, " Headmaster sometimes a straightforward answer isn't enough. Take care , Sir."

Sirius could feel Dumbledore's eyes on his back while he was walking away.

After few days, Sirius was talking to Remus about their next 'training session' date that Professor Kettleburn came up to them.

Professor Kettleburn said," Remus, I need a favor."

Remus replied, " What is it, Professor? "

Professor Kettleburn said," I have told you to call me Silvanus, Remus. The herds of unicorn are missing. I was looking for them to show during my lecture but it's like they have vanished. Hagrid has gone to do some work for the Headmaster. You are the only one I can ask."

Remus said, " No problem. I will go check out in the evening today. "

Professor Kettleburn thanked and left.

Sirius said," I am going with you, Professor Lupin."

Remus said, " No, Sirius. It's dangerous. "

Sirius replied, " Either you take me with you or I am going on my own."

Remus sighed and gave up. He asked Sirius to meet him at the door of the Great Hall at eight after dinner.

When Sirius reached the door, he found out three more people standing there with Remus as usual, Lockhart, Quirrell and Snivellus.

Remus smiled brightly at him and said, " Sirius, I hope you don't mind the extra company. "

Sirius said," Not at all, Professor."

Quirrell said, "I have… been concerned….. about the unicorns… so I decided to join… Remus. I have actually…. Liked…. unicorns since I…. was a kid. "

Sirius said," Why were you concerned about them? Even if you like them, you had no way of knowing about the disappearance of the unicorns. "

Instead of Quirrell, Lockhart replied, "Oh, so that's why you visit Forbidden Forest. I have seen you a few times going into the forest. "

Sirius saw that Remus and Snivellus were surprised to hear that.

Snivellus asked, "Why do you go in to the Forbidden forest? "

Quirrell stuttered," I like unicorns. "

Sirius snorted with laughter as he knew why Quirrell liked unicorns.

 _More like your other half acts like a vampire._

Sirius said, "Let's go. Who cares why Professor Quirrell goes in the forest? "

Quirrell looked at Sirius with slight gratitude in his eyes because he had saved him from the interrogation. Sirius had been trying to be on good terms with Quirrell without arousing suspicion ever since he came back from Holidays. He didn't even prank him anymore.

 _Ok, I prank him whenever I am sure he wouldn't suspect me._ _And I feel bad that Weasley twins are often blamed for those pranks._

Remus said,"Let's go then. Quirrell, you can guide us."

The five of them made their way to the Forbidden forest.

At the entrance, Snivellus said," Should we split into two groups? "

Remus replied, "Yes, that way we would cover more ground. Let's communicate with our patronuses if you find the unicorns or in case of emergency. "

Everybody nodded.

Quirrell asked, " So how should we spilt up?"

Remus replied, "Sirius and Lockhart can come with me while Quirrell and Severus, you can go together. Is that OK?"

Lockhart happily nodded.

Snivellus said,"Let's do that. Come on, Quirinus."

Quirrell nodded and followed Snivellus.

Sirius followed Remus with Lockhart behind him.

Lockhart was telling Remus how he met Bronte Charles. Valentine's Day was next week. Sirius wasn't enthusiastic about this particular day unlike other students. He was sure it would turn out to be a pretty annoying day. Receiving chocolates from unknown witches, who would be stupid enough to eat it.

It had been an hour since they ventured into the forest but still there was no sign of unicorns. They were quite deep in the forest now.

Lockhart said in a worried tone," Would we be able to find our way back? It's pretty dark, now."

Remus replied in a calm tone," Don't worry about it. "

 _Never underestimate the sense of smell of werewolves!_

Remus looked at Sirius and smiled.

He said," Look at our student, he is completely relaxed despite being in the Forbidden forest. "

Lockhart looked at Sirius and relaxed. Just then a loud roar shook the forest.

Lockhart let out a scream while Remus had almost fallen due to surprise. Sirius, himself, was bewildered.

Lockhart said," What… what… wa…..was that? "

Lockhart 's eyes were wide with fear.

Remus replied, "I have no idea. I think Severus and Quirinus are in danger."

Sirius had recognized the sound. He had heard such voices before, when he went on a trip with Moody.

"It's a dragon," said Sirius.

Remus and Lockhart looked at him.

Remus said sending patronus to Snivellus," We need to go to see if Severus and Quirinus are fine."

Lockhart said, " There is no need for us to go."

Sirius rolled her eyes and asked Remus to lead the way.

Remus said," Gilderoy, we need to find them."

Sirius said, "You can either stay here or come with us."

Lockhart looked angrily at Sirius.

Remus ignored him and started to move towards the sound.

Soon they saw Snivellus and Quirrell standing in front of a large cave. They seemed fine.

"Are you OK?" asked Remus.

They both turned towards them.

"What was that roar like noise?" said Snivellus.

Sirius shouted," Look out."

Remus jumped and dragged Snivellus away from the entrance of cave as they rolled to the side while Sirius accio'd Quirrell just as the dragon breathed fire.

It came out of the cave. It was a Norwegian Ridgeback. The dragon stopped right in front of Lockhart.

Lockhart, on instinct, pointed his wand at the dragon and shouted, "Obliviate."

Remus, Quirrell and Snivellus looked at him incredulously.

Sirius internally groaned and shouted, " Idiot, run."

Remus, Snivellus and Quirrell tried to stun it but it had no effect.

Sirius shouted again and asked them to run.

As soon as Sirius shouted, all of them were running at full speed. After running for unknown number of minutes and barely avoiding the dragon fire, Quirrell stumbled.

They all stopped, short of breath due to running.

"What is a dragon doing in the Forbidden forest?" asked Lockhart after catching his breath.

The other four wizards sighed and replied together, "Hagrid. "

Sirius said, "Uncle Roy, I think you are the first person in the world who tried to Obliviate a dragon."

Remus said, "Seriously, what were you thinking, Gildeory? "

Snivellus replied, "As usual, he wasn't thinking at all."

Quirrell's stuttering was completely gone when he said, "Dumbledore gave him permission to raise a dragon in the forest even after all the fiasco with the Acromantula."

Snivellus was about to comment that a severed leg of unicorn fell near them from the sky, missing Remus only by an inch or two.

They all looked at it.

After a moment of silence, Sirius said," Atleast, we know what happened to the unicorns now."

Lockhart fainted and landed on Remus. There was a sound like 'crunch'. Everybody looked towards them to find that Remus' wand had broken under Lockhart's weight. Remus groaned loudly.

"My wand," said Remus in a doleful voice.

Quirrell moved forward and enervated Lockhart. Remus was blaming Lockhart angrily at the loss of his wand.

Sirius said in a slightly loud voice,"I am wondering about one thing. "

Snivellus replied, "What is it? "

Sirius said,"We know that the unicorns are highly magical creatures especially their silver blood is very pure and potent magical item. Since this dragon has eaten almost all of the unicorns in the Forbidden forest, would it be more powerful than the normal dragon? "

Snivellus replied, "That could be the reason why our stunners didn't work. "

They all looked at each other and started running towards the exit of the forest.

Remus asked them to follow him.

Sirius, however, decided to take care of the dragon. The runes on the wands of the Black family increased the power of their spells depending on the number of runes that had been activated. However, it did strain the Magical core.

He was wondering whether to stun the dragon or use the new spell he had learnt from the "Godric's Guide to Controlling Magical Creatures".

Sirius decided to try the Godric's spell. He, however, needed to be away from the four Professors accompanying him.

Sirius looked at the four wizards running at full speed ahead. Remus, however, slowed from time to time looking at Sirius and encouraging him to run faster. Sirius found an opportunity to slip away when a stretch of forest with thick trees came.

Sirius didn't have to go far to reach the dragon as it was still following them.

Sirius activated one of the runes on the wand and shouted, "Drakon Ut Imperium. "

The dragon, at once, stopped. It blinked and looked at Sirius with glazed eyes. Sirius ordered the dragon to sleep. Sirius didn't like the controlling magic and wasn't happy that the spell had succeeded. But he knew that dragon's life shortens to almost half, if it has to live alone due to the loneliness they feel, being away from their own kind.

 _Ministry officials will take you to some reserve and you won't be alone…!_

Sirius made a portkey to the entrance of forest and transported himself there.

He could hear Remus shouting his name.

Remus said," I am going back to look for him."

He shouted, "Professor Lupin, I am at the entrance of the forest. "

Remus came out of forest after ten minutes. He ran towards Sirius and hugged him tightly.

Remus said," Padfoot, don't leave me again. I can't lose you again."

Snivellus cleared his throat and Remus, at once, let Sirius go.

Remus said," I am sorry, Sirius. "

Sirius told him that he didn't mind.

Lockhart and Quirrell were extremely exhausted and were lying down on their backs at the entrance of the forest. Remus and Snivellus, too, were sitting down.

"It isn't following us now," said Remus.

"Maybe it started flying, " said Snivellus.

Sirius stood up and sent a patronus to his father with a message, "Dad, there is a dragon in the Forbidden forest which almost roasted us alive. Kindly send people from the Ministry to deal with it."

Sirius saw Remus' eyes widen when he saw the form of patronus.

"Your patronus, " were the only words that came out of Remus' mouth.

Sirius replied, " I have the same patronus as my father. "

 _Well, it's a Grim…_

Remus sighed and nodded.

"Shouldn't you be more surprised that a first year is using Patronus charm," said Snivellus.

Quirrell said," Shouldn't we have informed the Headmaster first?"

Sirius replied, "Do you really think Headmaster doesn't know about it? "

Lockhart, who was finally brave again, said,"Headmaster should be suspended if he knew and didn't do anything. "

After few minutes, Sirius saw Minnie coming out the door and going towards the Hogwarts gate. Whereas, Dumbledore was coming towards them.

"What happened? " asked Dumbledore in a panicked voice.

Before anyone could reply, Regulus came running towards him.

Regulus said, ignoring everybody ,"Sirius, are you OK? Are you hurt? Do you need a Healer?"

Sirius smiled and said," Dad, I am fine."

Regulus hugged him and breathed a sigh of relief.

Regulus,then looked towards Remus and said, " Remus, what happened? Why is there a dragon in the Forbidden forest? "

Remus briefly explained the story without mentioning Hagrid's role.

However, Lockhart wasn't that kind and said, " We, all have suspicion that this dragon might have been raised by Hagrid."

Regulus looked at Dumbledore indignantly and sent a message to Lucius via patronus, "Lucius, come to Hogwarts right now. It's an emergency. "

Dumbledore had slightly lost his calm demeanor and seemed vexed.

Dumbledore asked everyone to move to his office. It was past curfew so no students were roaming around to see the disheveled looks of the five wizards who fought the dragon or rather ran away from the dragon.

Dumbledore asked Sirius to go back to Ravenclaw tower.

Regulus objected, " He isn't going anywhere until Madam Pomfrey has checked him. I am taking him to the Hospital Wing. "

Dumbledore didn't say anything.

Regulus and Sirius made their way to go Hospital wing. Regulus told him that he hadn't told Marlene or anybody else about it yet, as he rushed without any delay after receiving Sirius' message.

Madam Pomfrey checked Sirius and expressed great displeasure when she heard about a dragon roaming almost in the Hogwarts.

As Regulus and Sirius were walking back to the Ravenclaw Tower, they heard Lucius' voice. They found Lucius talking to Minister Fudge. Minister Fudge was accompanied by Gideon Prewett. Gideon Prewett was the new head of Magical Creatures Department. He had transferred to the said department few years ago from Magical Law Enforcement department.

Gideon Prewett gave a venomous look to the Blacks whereas Lucius looked at them like they were his sons. Minister Fudge had respect in his eyes for them or rather for their money and status.

Lucius came over and said," Is our dear Sirius ok? He wasn't hurt by the dragon? "

Regulus replied, "Thank God, he is fine."

Lucius said, "I panicked when I heard your message. The other Governors are coming shortly along with the journalists. I will have that groundskeeper sent to Azkaban this time. "

Mention of Azkaban sent chills down Sirius' spine. The memories of his twelve years in Azkaban hit him hard. He felt dizzy but as he was about to lose balance, Regulus caught his arm.

Regulus asked hurriedly, "Are you OK,Sirius? "

Sirius replied, "I am fine. Just tired,I guess. "

Regulus gave him a look that clearly stated that he knew Sirius was telling a lie.

Regulus picked him up and said, "I am taking you to the Hospital wing. "

Sirius became red with embarrassment and said,"Put me down, Dad. I can walk there myself. "

Regulus replied nonchalantly, "Yeah, sure you can. "

Then Regulus looked at Lucius and said, "Lucius, can you handle it? I am going to be with my son. "

Lucius said,"Don't worry about it. Do you want me to call healers from St Mungos? "

Regulus replied, "For now, Madam Pomfrey will do. If there is a more serious problem, I will ask the Chief Healer to come here."

Lucius nodded and walked away towards the headmaster's office.

Sirius said, " Put me down, Dad, else you will have a Sirius problem. "

Regulus laughed and said, "You loved it when I picked you up before. What's wrong now? "

Sirius said, "I was a baby then."

Regulus smiled and said, "You will always be a baby to me."

When they reached the hospital wing, Regulus told madam Pomfrey about Sirius feeling dizzy.

Madam Pomfrey said, "This might be because he is exhausted. Seriously, what are they thinking keeping a dragon in the forest. Of course, the kid would have been terrified. "

Madam Pomfrey gave him some energy potion along with dreamless sleeping potion.

Regulus conjured a chair and sat beside the bed Sirius was in.

Sirius said in a sleepy voice, "Dad, don't send Hagrid to Azkaban. It's a terrible place."

Sirius saw his father looking at him with a strange look.

Then Sirius fell asleep realizing his mistake.

Next day, Sirius woke up to a hushed conversation between his father and mother.

"Why didn't you tell me last night? Leave last night aside, you didn't bother to tell me at all. Narcissa told me. He is my son,too," said Marlene angrily.

Regulus said, 'I was busy with the dragon business and then I fell asleep here. It wasn't intentional, darling."

"Don't darling me,"said Marlene moving towards Sirius' bed.

When she saw Sirius awake, she smiled and hugged him.

"Are you OK? How are you feeling? Do you need some medicine? Do you want **breakfast?** Do you need to rest more? Are there any burns on your body? Why were you in the Forbidden forest? Did Remus take you there?" asked Marlene.

Sirius gave a blank look to his mother and said," Am I supposed to answer all these questions?"

Regulus snorted with laughter but one look from Marlene sobered him up.

Marlene said," Just tell how you are feeling? "

Sirius said, " I am fine."

Just then Remus entered and greeted the Blacks.

Marlene looked at him angrily and said, "What were you thinking, Remus? Why did you take him to the forest?"

Instead of Remus, Sirius replied, "Professor Lupin didn't ask me to go; I gave him a choice, either to take me with him or else I will go alone."

Marlene sighed and apologized to Remus.

Remus was about to say something that Ravenclaw Quidditch team barged into the hospital wing.

"Why are you getting injured three days before our match with the Gryffindor? " said Jeremy.

Jacob slapped on the back of Jeremy's head and politely greeted his parents.

All the others followed suit.

Sirius said, " I am fine. Nothing to worry about. I was just exhausted from running away from the dragon."

Jacob said, "So Captain, we will have practice today, right? "

Sirius said, "Yes, we will."

Rogers asked Regulus, "What happened to the dragon, Mr. Black? "

Sirius realized that he had forgotten to ask about what happened afterwards.

Regulus replied, "The Ministry officials will be transporting it to the reserve in Romania."

"Where did the dragon come from?" asked Chang in a worried tone.

"This matter is under investigation but we do know that someone brought it to the forest," said Regulus.

"It must be Hagrid. He, once, told me when I was serving detention with him that he would love to have a dragon as pet, " said Ethan.

"Yeah, well he is a person of interest for now, too," said Regulus.

Lockhart entered with a huge bouquet of pink roses.

"Ah, my favorite student is awake. I know today is not Valentine's Day but I brought these flowers for you so that you get well soon," said Lockhart.

Madam Pomfrey entered and shooed away all the people except the Blacks. She met Marlene very enthusiastically as she had been trained by Marlene's grandfather in the arts of healing.

She asked Sirius, "Mr. Black, how are you feeling? "

Sirius replied, " I am fine, Thanks."

Madam Pomfrey then asked, "Dear Marlene, would you like to have breakfast here or in my office. "

Marlene replied, " If possible, Madam Pomfrey, I would like to have breakfast with my son and husband here. It would be nice if you join us, too."

Madam Pomfrey asked the elves to bring breakfast for four and conjured a table for all to sit.

They had a pleasant breakfast and Sirius left for his classes.

The first class was Transfiguration that day so Sirius had to listen to Rat Jr remarking loudly what a big coward Sirius was that he was afraid of a dragon. Minnie reprimanded Rat Jr but that still didn't stop the snickering of Gryffindors.

Therefore, Sirius took the matters in his own hands and transfigured the Professor's desk into a dragon. Well, all the students screamed and ran out of the class except for Sirius.

 _So much for being a Gryffindor._

Sirius smirked while Minnie turned the dragon back to desk. She glared at Sirius and said," Ten points to Ravenclaw, Mr. Black for such an impressive transfiguration. I won't give you detention this time but kindly behave from now on."

Sirius smirked and said, "I am always on my best behavior, Professor Minnie."

Minnie rolled her eyes and went outside to bring the students back.

At lunch time, he saw Remus showing his new wand to Snivellus. Sirius recognized it at once as he was the one who made it. One thing that Sirius had learned during his apprenticeship with Ollivander was that when one made a wand, they could recognize it immediately as their own creation and even remember the substances in the core. Ollivander's remarkable memory was the part of Ollivander's wand making traditions. Yes, one who made the wand by the Ollivander's family method remembered it for a lifetime.

Sirius had seen many students like Luna, Draco, Neville, Ethan, Susan and others who had wands made by Sirius. Even his dear cousin Nymphadora Tonks didn't know that the wand she had bought that day from Ollivander's shop was made by Sirius when he was doing his apprenticeship.

Rest of the day was uneventful except for bidding goodbye to his parents and Quidditch practice.

Night before match, Sirius could sense that his teammates were restless. Jacob was giving pep talk to everyone despite being nervous himself.

Sirius stood on the table and said," Do you want to win the match? "

Everybody, even the ones who weren't in team replied in unison, " Yes."

Sirius said," Great moments are born from great opportunity; and this is what we have tomorrow. Do you not want to be the part of team that breaks the century old tradition of losing?"

"We do," came the reply.

"Then let them know tomorrow how wit beyond measure is the man's greatest treasure. Let everybody know who underestimate us, who mock Ravenclaws as bookworms, let everybody know, WE WILL WIN," said Sirius loudly.

A sound of 'Yes' roared in the tower.

Luna smiled brightly at Sirius.

Ravenclaw tower went to sleep that night with high spirits.

The spirits were high at breakfast, too.

Remus and Quirrell came to the Ravenclaw table to tell the team that they will be cheering for them.

Sirius teased Remus, " Professor Lupin, weren't you in Gryffindor? "

Remus gave him a short reply, " That doesn't matter. "

Luna handed them small flags with the color and symbol of Ravenclaw and said," Just like last time."

She added, " Professors, why don't you come and sit with us at the stands. "

Both Professors readily agreed.

Remus placed his hand on Sirius' shoulder and said," You will win, right? "

Instead of Sirius, the whole Ravenclaw shouted, " Yes, we will."

This sudden display of passion was so out of character for the Ravenclaws that everybody was bewildered.

Quirrell shouted punching his fist up in the air, 'Yeah."

Slytherins came to the Ravenclaw table and told them that they will be supporting them. Luna handed multiple flags to Draco, which Draco passed to the Slytherins beside him.

Romeo said," If Ravenclaw win today, then you might win the Quidditch Cup even if you lose to us. But still we will support you. "

Sirius replied, " There is no way we are losing to Gryffindor or Slytherin. "

Sirius looked towards the staff table. Snivellus was scowling, Minnie looked something between perplexed and vexed and Professor Flitwick was pleasantly surprised.

Gryffindors, too, were scowling.

Sirius knew it was going to be a hard match. Gryffindor had an excellent team especially their beaters and seeker. Their Chasers were good, too but Ravenclaw clearly outshone them in that department. Sirius knew that Gryffindor will try their best to end the match as quickly as possible by getting the snitch. Harry was an excellent seeker; in fact, the best seeker in Hogwarts right now.

 _Well, I expect nothing less from James' son._

Ravenclaws wanted the snitch to be caught when the score difference between them and Gryffindor was greater than hundred and fifty. Sirius had asked Ethan to try his best as a keeper to not let the Gryffindor Chasers score. Jacob who was as good a beater as the Weasley twins, was to target Harry all the time to restrict his movements and help Chang. Mark was assigned to take care of the Chasers and if possible, knock out the Gryffindor keeper.

The match started. The commentary, this time, was extremely biased, favoring the Gryffindors. But anybody could hardly hear it over the cheering being done by the students.

Sirius scored the first goal. As soon as the first goal was scored, the Ravenclaw Chasers became unstoppable. Jacob was successfully launching bludgers at Harry who was now surrounded by Weasley twins who were taking care of the bludgers. Ethan had brought his best game to the match.

Sirius heard the commentary, " 110 – 20. Ravenclaw Chasers are completely destroying the Gryffindor team. And Davies scores again, 120-20."

Finally the difference was one hundred and fifty. The cheers from Ravenclaw stand were deafening. And the difference kept increasing after that.

Harry broke away from the beaters and zoomed towards the snitch closely followed by Chang. Sirius realized that Harry wanted the game to end on his terms even if they lose.

The score was 240-40.

A second or two before, Harry caught the snitch Sirius had scored another goal.

Ravenclaws were overjoyed. They had won the match.

250-190 was the final score.

Sirius landed and shouted, "Yes, yes, yes."

The Ravenclaw team had come down and picked Sirius up.

Sirius saw Professor Flitwick almost dancing of joy in front of Minnie who was trying her best to keep her cool. Snivellus was taunting Minnie.

Lockhart, Remus and Quirrell were congratulating the Ravenclaw students. There was a certain thrill in the atmosphere. And Sirius was enjoying a lot.

The Tower was buzzing with joy at dinner time. Sirius had invited Remus, Quirrell and Lockhart to the party, too.

Sirius clinked his spoon on the butterbeer bottle to get everybody's attention.

He said," We won."

There was a loud cheer from the ccrowd.

Sirius said," Everybody played well but if I was to declare any one of you player of the match, it would be Ethan. "

There was loud clapping and Ethan looked abashed.

Sirius continued, " We wouldn't have won this match if even one of you were missing but the effort of Ethan in stopping the Gryffindor Chasers was the biggest factor in our victory. "

Everybody clapped loudly and cheered 'Ethan, Ethan, Ethan'.

Ethan said in an embarrassed tone," But Sirius, I could only move like that because you gave me your broomstick and even trained me in the extra time to maneuver on it properly. "

Jacob said, " Wait, but Sirius you were using your own broomstick. "

Sirius replied, " Glamour charm on the broomsticks. I didn't want the other team to know that Ethan was using my broomstick. Ethan, you are talented and you performed this well by your own hard work. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. "

The party went on whole night.

Gryffindors remained sour for quite a few days after the match whereas Ravenclaw basked in the glory of their victory. Same was the case with Minnie and Professor Flitwick. Even Quirrell was boasting that his house's team had won.

Sirius' happiness vanished when he saw the calendar because Valentine's Day was day after tomorrow. The next day, the excitement of Quidditch had died down as the students and teachers started preparing for the arrival of their favorite author, Bronte Charles. Many girls could be heard squealing here and there. Professor Sprout even cancelled the lecture to give them time to prepare for the arrival of her favourite author. Draco and his fan club had prepared special banners to welcome the author. Draco had told him that it was his goal to get his picture taken with Bronte Charles and get an autograph on that picture to gift it to his mother.

To his great annoyance, Lockhart had decided to make the Valentine's Day special by making elves take love letters here and there. The elves were supposed to read the letters aloud. Sirius made Lockhart, at least, to not let the elves read the letters out aloud in front of everyone.

 _Ah, it is going to be one irksome day!_

Sirius woke up next morning and ate breakfast in the kitchen. He had decided to avoid the Great Hall all day. He didn't even want to see who Bronte Charles was. Sirius was early in the potions class . Like always, he sat at the back. He wasn't expecting anyone else as there was still half an hour till the lecture began.

Sirius was sitting quietly when he observed Snivellus enter the class. Snivellus was wearing very expensive robes and had even tied his hair back.

 _At least, he won't be swinging his greasy hair today ridiculously._

But for some unknown reason, Snivellus seemed extremely happy.

 _I doubt Augusta Longbottom would have sent him is he so happy about?_

Sirius wasn't expecting on discovering another secret of Snivellus that day but he did. Snivellus was singing in a really bad voice. Sirius moved towards the adjoining office and sneaked a peek. He saw Snivellus kissing the novel, 'The Sexy Sorceress' by Bronte Charles.

Snivellus said in a very happy voice," I will get autograph of my favorite author on my favorite book, today."

And then Snivellus giggled.

Sirius, at once, moved back to his seat. He was having a very hard time controlling his laugh. When he couldn't take it anymore, he silently moved out of the class and literally ran the other direction. After he knew that Snivellus couldn't hear him this far, he started laughing like a maniac.

 _Oh my God, I could die laughing because of Snivellus…_

Sirius was still laughing when two elves came up to him with six love letters with chocolates. He was quite friendly with the elves due to his frequent visits to the kitchen. He had gotten along with them well even in his past life.

The elf Bingo said," Master Sirius is quite popular. "

The little elf named Flora shyly gave chocolates to Sirius saying, " Flora made chocolates for Master Sirius. Will Master Sirius accept them?"

Sirius said, "Yes, I will, Flora. Thanks a lot."

Sirius took the chocolates and gave a peck to Flora on the cheek.

Flora squealed with happiness which made Sirius laugh.

Bingo said, "Bingo will have to deal with Funny Flora all day now, Master Sirius. "

Sirius smiled and hugged Bingo, too.

Bingo smiled and left with 'Funny Flora'.

Sirius looked at the letters. They were from the witches he didn't even know the face of except for one. Apparently, Hermione Granger had a crush on him. Sirius sighed.

 _Looks like Nev was right._

Before seeing that letter, Sirius just thought Hermione was curious about him being a Black, a wizard from the Dark family.

 _Oh well, whatever._

Sirius burned all the letters and chocolates without reading and went to attend his potions class.

The day continued like this, Sirius burning letters and chocolates. Even the Rat Jr's girlfriend had sent him a letter. Maybe, it was a prank letter or a hate mail. Sirius didn't bother with it. He ate lunch in the kitchen, too where he requested the elves to not bring him any other letters or chocolates. The elves asked what to do with them, to which he replied that they should dispose them.

Elf named Fluzzy said," Fluzzy feels bad for the girls, Master Sirius. "

Sirius smiled and replied, "Fluzzy, if they aren't brave enough to give it to me themselves, then they aren't worth my time. Flora did it herself, that's why I accepted her chocolates. "

Fluzzy nodded and brought him treacle tart. Rest of the day passed peacefully as elves didn't bring him more letters.

Rat Jr had received a few and bragged about them in front of Sirius.

He stood near Sirius and said,"Dark wizards are never loved by anyone. Looks like you will die alone like your uncle."

Sirius looked at Rat Jr angrily.

 _These people will never know what true loneliness is._

Sirius pointed his wand at Rat Jr, turned him into a pig and walked away ignoring the words of everyone.

Sirius was about to retire to his dormitory for the day that he was caught by Lockhart. Sirius tried to say that he wasn't feeling well and that made Lockhart take him to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey looked at Sirius and smiled.

"Too many chocolates, Mr. Black?, " said Madam Pomfrey.

"Actually none, Madam Pomfrey. I am not even sick. I just said that to get rid of Professor Lockhart, " said Sirius.

"Well, Mr. Lockhart can be overbearing sometimes, " said Madam Pomfrey.

Sirius nodded.

"So you don't mind if I go to the Great Hall and well, welcome Mr. Bronte Charles," said Madam Pomfrey.

"Even you ,Madam Pomfrey, " Sirius teased.

Madam Pomfrey smiled and left.

Sirius stayed in the silence of the Hospital Wing for a while. As he was walking out of the Hospital Wing, he bumped into a blond handsome man with a melancholic look on his face. He was wearing black rectangle spectacles and Sirius had to admit that they made him look even more handsome.

Sirius said," Sorry, I wasn't looking?"

The man replied, "Oh, don't worry. Its my fault as much as it was yours. "

The man looked eerily familiar. Sirius was trying to place the guy in his memory.

The man extended his hand and said," I am Bronte Charles. "

Sirius looked at him surprised and shook his hand.

Sirius replied, 'Sirius Black. "

Sirius saw strange emotions in the eyes of the man.

"I know. I have seen you in the newspaper, " said Bronte Charles.

That was when it struck Sirius.

 _Of course, he is different now. Untainted by Azkaban, he looks so different. Barty Crouch Junior, one of the most loyal Death Eater._

Sirius noticed that both of them had been looking at each other for quite some time, so he cleared his throat and looked away.

 _Great, Voldemort would be reunited with another minion of his._

"Mr. Charles, are you lost? There is supposed to be a big welcome for you at the Great Hall, " said Sirius.

Crouch Jr. sighed and said, "I know that's why I am here. I am not fan of crowds so I was trying to escape. Why did I even accept Lockhart's invitation?"

Sirius asked,"Why did you accept? "

Crouch looked at him curiously and said,"I don't know. I felt something might change if I come here."

Sirius knew that he wasn't entirely truthful but had no grounds to press for more.

 _Yeah, everything will change if you meet your master._

Sirius said," Then if you will excuse me, Mr. Charles. "

Crouch Jr cut him off, " Barty Crouch, that is my real name. You can call me Barty, Sirius. "

Sirius looked strangely at the familiarity being shown by Crouch Jr.

Crouch Jr said," Why aren't you at the Great Hall in the welcoming squad? "

Sirius replied, " Mr. Barty, hope you won't be offended when I tell you that I am not a fan of your books."

Crouch Jr laughed and said, "Straight forward like the Blacks."

Sirius didn't reply. He was feeling hungry and was thinking of going to the kitchen for dinner.

Sirius said," Then excuse me, Mr. Barty. "

Crouch Jr said, "Where are you going? "

Sirius replied, " To have dinner in the kitchen. "

Crouch Jr smiled and said, "Ok, then I will join you. I am famished. And call me Barty, no need to add Mister. "

Sirius gave an irritated look to Crouch Jr and said, "Baaaarty, people are waiting for you in the Great Hall. Won't you have dinner with them?"

Crouch Jr replied, "I won't be able to have dinner peacefully while being stared by hundreds of people. I did say I am famished. "

Sirius said, "Fine."

Sirius started walking towards the kitchen followed by Barty.

Barty said, "Do you know that I was in the same year as your father at Hogwarts? "

Sirius replied, "My father never mentioned you."

Barty said," I was second -best at every subject except Transfiguration. I beat your father in it."

Sirius didn't say anything and entered the kitchen.

He was greeted by Flora who had arranged a special table for him.

Flora said,"I have prepared Master Sirius' favorite dishes for dinner."

Sirius thanked her and introduced Barty Crouch Jr.

They ate dinner in silence. Barty wasn't telling a lie when he said he was famished.

Sirius thanked the elves for dinner and was about to leave when Barty asked," Sirius, what do you think , of me?"

Sirius replied, "I don't know you well enough to have any opinion of you but I do know one thing that people underestimate you, Barty. "

Barty laughed and asked," How so?"

Sirius replied, "You are a powerful wizard. "

Barty Crouch smirked and said, "Nothing escapes you, Blacks now, does it?"

Sirius gave him a smirk of his own and said, "Actually it does. Aunt Narcissa Malfoy née Black and her son are your big fans. And well, you are the first wizard I have met who knows how to weave simple English words into an enchantment. Even if enchantment is weak and harmless , it still induces the emotion the reader desires."

Barty laughed and said, "Sirius, people underestimate you, too. "

Sirius replied, "I don't think so. The people who are precious to me know the real me."

 _That is a lie though , kind of…._

Barty said, "Do they now? You are the first person who has become aware of my true talent in writing. How did you find out? "

Sirius replied, "When I saw two girls give entirely different reaction to the same book. One insisted that book was a tragedy while the other one was convinced that book had a happy ending. And that reminded me of the wizard Dante, the last known wizard who could use the word weaving magic."

Barty replied, " How do you know of Dante? He is unknown in this part of our world. Even I was unaware of it until I travelled to Italy. By the way, I based the novel Vixen of Venice on his great great great granddaughter or something."

 _Don't tell me he, himself is the hero, a blond man with melancholic look…Milly's dream wizard_

Sirius said, " Never underestimate the Black's library. "

Barty laughed and said, "I would never underestimate anything associated with the Blacks. Back in the day, I was kind of a fan of the Black family. "

 _I know. But you were only fan of Bellatrix._

Sirius said," Anyway, Barty have a good night. "

Sirius waved a goodbye to Barty and went to the Ravenclaw Tower. There was a small pouch outside his room's door. He picked it up and read the note attached.

" **I made chocolates for the first time to give to the whole Ravenclaw Quidditch team. I made these one especially for you. I have been waiting for you to come back for quite a while. Since you were taking your time, I left them here. Hope you will accept them and not burn them like I saw you do in the morning before potions class. – Luna"**

Sirius laughed and opened the pouch to taste the chocolate. It was unique, that was all Sirius could comment.

Next morning, Sirius was eating breakfast listening to how festive last night has been, that someone suddenly came and sat beside him. Sirius looked at the newcomer, only to find Barty Crouch Junior smiling at him. Sirius made a face that clearly showed his displeasure.

"Don't make such a face. I have decided to stay for a few days," said Barty.

"Why don't you go and sit with staff or your fan club?" asked Sirius.

"I feel like I have a connection with you," said Barty.

"I don't think we have any connection. I don't have a self-righteous prick for a father like you," said Sirius, a little too late to realize that he had said too much.

Barty laughed and said," You and I will get along well because we share the same feelings when it comes to Barty Crouch Senior. I knew we had a connection. "

Suddenly many students mainly girls started coming to ask for autograph or picture of the author. Sirius rolled his eyes got up.

Luna said, "Sirius, you haven't finished your breakfast? "

Sirius replied, "I will grab a few sandwiches from the kitchen. And someone did give me chocolates with a peculiar taste yesterday. I will eat them."

He saw that Luna 's cheeks became slightly pink. But he was distracted by Barty.

Barty grabbed his wrist and said,"Save me, Sirius. "

Sirius' eyes fell on Robert who was most probably consoling Draco as Barty didn't sit with him on the Slytherin table.

Sirius smirked and said," I have a perfect protector for you in mind. You know my Aunt Bella, Bellatrix Lestrange née Black?"

There was a certain shine in the eyes of Barty Crouch Junior on hearing the name of Bellatrix.

Sirius continued, "Her son, Robert Lestrange is a very capable wizard. "

Barty Crouch Junior ignored all the girls and said," Mrs. Lestrange has a son? "

Sirius said, " Were you living under the rock or something? "

Sirius couldn't hear his reply because of the chatter of the girls.

Barty Crouch Junior said in a firm tone to the girls," Leave. I am not in the mood. "

The girls were baffled but left nonetheless.

Barty asked," Where is he?"

Sirius pointed towards the Slytherin table and said," The one sitting beside Lucius Malfoy's clone."

Barty got up and went towards them. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and went to his class after picking up a few sandwiches.

The next few days he saw Robert with an annoyed look on his face while Draco seemed euphoric. Sirius was just happy that he didn't have to deal with Barty Crouch Junior anymore even if it was at the expense of Robert's peace.

Barty Crouch Junior stayed for a week and on his last day,Sirius saw him talking to Quirrell in hushed voices.

 _So he has met his master._

When he was leaving, he came to the Ravenclaw table and placed his hand on Sirius' shoulder. Sirius turned around and looked inquisitively at him.

Barty Crouch Junior smiled and said, " Well, you are my responsibility now."

Sirius replied, " What do you mean?"

Barty said," You will know when the time comes. So until then, let's be friends. "

Sirius said bluntly,"Sorry, I but don't make friends nor do I plan to have any in the future. "

 _I don't want any friends…. Not after what happened…_

Sirius realized that he was still afraid of making friends.

 _Oh great! I have developed a phobia._

Barty said, " We will need to correct that. Here I am gifting you my new book with my autograph. It hasn't even been released to the public yet."

He forcefully gave the book to Sirius who was resisting saying that he didn't need the book. Sirius could see that BC fan club was looking at him angrily.

Sirius sighed and took the book. As usual it had a strange title, 'The Reaper of Corsets '. Sirius gave an exasperated look to Barty who just smiled in response.

Sirius asked, " Why do you write such ridiculous novels?"

Barty replied, " Because they are ridiculous and they irked my father so much that he banished me from the Manor. "

Sirius' expression hardened on hearing about Barty Crouch Senior.

Barty looked at him and said," And that look is why you and I will be best friends forever. "

Sirius rolled his eyes and laughed.

Sirius said," In your dreams, Barty. Besides, I already have a best friend. "

Barty said, " I will write letters to you and if you don't reply, I will come and spend some time with you. Oh, and I will come and watch the Dueling Championship. "

Sirius gave him an annoyed look. Barty just laughed, ruffled Sirius' hair and left.

Time passed and now dueling Championship and Quidditch Match with Slytherin were just around the corner. Only a week apart from each other.

The Quidditch match came first. Romeo Lestrange, son of Rabastan Lestrange, was in the Slytherin Quidditch team. Rabastan Lestrange was doing well this time around, too. He was biggest shareholder in the company that made Nimbus series broomsticks. He also had other business ventures and let's just say that Lestranges were one of the wealthiest family in the wizarding world. Romeo told Sirius that Snivellus had warned the Slytherin team that if they lose , they will be spending rest of the year in detention. Sirius assured him that Slytherin team will be spending rest of the year in detention.

When the time of match came, Slytherin team came with the latest Nimbus broomsticks. Match with Slytherin was expected to be rough. Sirius asked Chang to get snitch as soon as she can. Sirius told his team not to relax and underestimate the Slytherin team. The match started. Romeo was also a Chaser. Well, as soon as match started so did the rough play. Slytherin have decided to send all bludgers towards Ethan. Jacob was now flying around goal post to send the bludgers away. Despite their bludger strategy, Ethan hadn't let any goal in. Ravenclaw, on the other hand, were on a roll. The score was 120-0 that Slytherin succeeded in injuring Ethan. They sent the bludger and Quaffle at the same time. Ethan accidentally went for bludger and injured his shoulder. His movement slowed down and Slytherin scored a few goals. The score, now, was 190-50. Sirius went to Ethan and asked him if he was ok. He could see Ethan was in pain. He then, flew towards Chang and told her to hurry up. Jacob was flying nearby, so Sirius asked him to search for the snitch with Chang and leave the bludgers to Mark. Jacob and Chang nodded and flew away together. The score was 210-100. Meanwhile, Jeremy had been knocked out as the Slytherin beater had hit him on the head with his bat. When asked he said that he thought Jeremy's head was a bludger. Sirius was angry and realized that it was him that was underestimating Slytherin team as to how far they will go to win the match.

In his anger, he decided to play like Slytherin . He asked Rogers to give him the Quaffle. He took the Quaffle and zoomed towards the goalposts. He turned sharply to the side towards the stands. He could see that Flint was following him with full speed. Near the stands, he shot vertically upwards in a tight space, a move only possible with a broom like Firebolt. The Flint crashed with the stands and was out of the game. Sirius saw that his teammates were laughing and giving him thumbs up. Sirius and Rogers scored a few goals again. Sirius next decided to take out the beater that had hit Jeremy. Sirius flew towards him with full speed. The Slytherin beater thought that Sirius would stop but when Sirius didn't stop coming after him, he became anxious. Sirius didn't collide with him but passed so close that he lost balance and fell from his broom. Slytherin team complained to which Sirius said that he thought his head was a Quaffle. Sirius heard Lee's voice that Ravenclaw are maintaining their lead, 260-130. Sirius and Rogers diligently tried to cover the difference to win if they didn't get the snitch. Well, they finally succeeded and at the same time Chang caught the snitch. The final score was 440-130.

Ravenclaw had won the Quidditch Cup. Even though the crowds were cheering loudly, the Ravenclaw Quidditch team was silent. They all flew down and looked at each other . After a long moment of silence , they all rushed towards each other and huddled together. The cheers from Ravenclaw were deafening. The Ravenclaw Team after a century had won the Quidditch Cup. Sirius was awarded the cup by the Headmaster. The team surrounded him and cup was being passed around. Lockhart didn't miss this opportunity and asked Remus to take his picture with the winning team. Everybody knew the intention of Lockhart. Sirius made Professor Flitwick hold the cup in the picture.

The next day there was a big article in Daily Prophet Sports Section with the said picture.

 **Ravenclaws conquer the field of Quidditch after a century!**

The article had written about Quidditch Cup history and famous Quidditch players from Hogwarts. Regulus and Marlene had sent gifts for all Quidditch team. Sirius received congratulatory letters from almost everyone he knew. He had even received letters from Mr. Ollivander and Mr. Burkes. Barty had sent his new book which Sirius already had with his autograph to the Ravenclaw team. Ethan had decided to auction this book at BC Fan Club which Sirius said was a brilliant idea. Mr. Florean sent his special ice creams which had shape of raven in Ravenclaw colors for the whole team and told Sirius in the accompanying letter that he, too was a Ravenclaw. Dorcas sent letters to the Ravenclaw team members which was a special pass making meal free for them and their families at her restaurant for lifetime. Jacob remarked how even they were being treated extra special because of Sirius. Sirius told him that they were famous because of Lockhart not him.

NEXT CHAPTER

Duelling Championship

Chamber of secrets

Prongs is about to come back !


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